


Harmony in minor (book two)

by TheDarkOne



Category: Stargate Universe
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-28
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-04-17 18:16:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 53,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4676531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkOne/pseuds/TheDarkOne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eli, Melody (OC), and Rush become trapped in an alien artifact which is occupied by an Artificial Intelligence. When Eli becomes seriously injured, it is up to Melody to join with the A.I. to save him.  Eli and Rush's professional and personal relationship is tested when Rush does not react to Eli's 'confession' the way Eli had hoped...<br/>This story is a sequel to my "Replaced". I recommend reading that first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Realizings

_My hearfelt thanks to Lynn, who put my sentences in a correct order - again!_

* * *

Melody sat on her bed in her small quarters and looked at the stars. A few minutes ago, Destiny had dropped out of FTL and the young woman was curious where she had deposited them this time. Most times there was nothing new to see; but sometimes she could see a nebula or other planets. This time is was just the view of the stars in front of an endless black universe; at least on the side where her quarters were. She wondered if she should head to the observation deck and have a look at the other side. After a few moments she decided not to go, probably there would be many people there now and she prefered to be alone. With a sigh, she grabbed her laptop and continued working. The calculations she had to do were complicated and she needed to be completely focused. She was a genius when it came to numbers and equations, just like Eli was, but she had some trouble focusing. She wasn't at it for long when her mind started to turn numbers into musical notes. However she tried, she couldn't stop it. She would just drift off hearing music in her head and forget about everything else. This had been going on since she was a child, the result of which earned her derision and a reputation as a "hopeless dreamer".  
As time passed, she shut herself away and let them believe they were right about her. 

_5 weeks earlier…_

Eli was sitting beside Rush's bed. TJ and Dr. Charles had managed to treat his injuries, but he was still running a high fever and both couldn't say for sure if he would even survive the night.  
On the planet they had visited some days ago, TJ and Rush had been replaced by duplicates and Rush had been critically injured by two arrows when he and TJ had tried to escape from their captors.  
Fortunately, Eli had managed to dial back through the gate system when Destiny had dropped out of hyperspace. Colonel Young and his men were then able to return to the planet where TJ and Rush were. As quickly as possible, they brougt the injured scientist back to Destiny. Young and his team stayed behind temporarily to destroy the artifact that the inhabitants used to duplicate two of their "guests" for the purpose of raiding their ship and stealing their technology.  
TJ had asked for a SGC physician upon arrival back on Destiny and Dr Charles had exchanged with Camile Wray within minutes.  
Tamara had banished everyone but Chloe from the infirmary, leaving everyone else outside to wait.  
It had been very unnerving until finally after hours, the doors opened again and Eli's hopes for good news were bitterly disappointed. The night would bring the decision and the young man felt his heart sinking. The young MIT dropout had sat beside his mentor, changed the wet clothes to get the fever down, and talking quietly to him, "I truly respect and have a great deal of regard for you. Maybe you don't have the best social skills but… and please don't take this wrong, well, you're my mentor and…", by now his voice was scarcely audible (as if Rush could have heard him) "…and like a father to me. You talk to me, work with me, encourage and push me and I think, sometimes, you even like me. But if you leave me now, you're no better than my real father. Please Rush, don't leave me. Don't leave us. We need you… I need you." 

_An hour earlier…_

Eli was busily working at his station on the bridge. Dr. Rush was occupying the 'Kirk-chair' and the rest of his science team, Drs. Park, Volker and Mr. Brody were sitting to Eli's right.  
Actually the MIT dropout should have been working on some calculations for Rush, but although he was thinking of Rush's work order, he couldn't focus on the numbers.  
It had been barely two weeks since the incident on the planet that had nearly killed Rush and the scientist was only now allowed back to work. Ever since, Eli had been haunted night by night and even during the last few days, day by day with the memories of how he had feared for Rush's life. About how he had refused to leave the infirmary in order to stay by him and mostly, how he had shared his deepest feelings and thoughts with him when he had been alone and the scientist was in a fever soaked delirium.  
He was relatively sure Rush couldn't have heard what he said, but since his recovery he sensed Rush watching him more often than usual. This was making him nervous. Of course he had meant every single word he had said, but it wasn't meant for anyone to hear, especially not Rush.  
Absentmindedly, he tapped with his pointer beside some buttons at the console until Dr. Park's voice interrupted his thoughts.  
"I could use a break and it's time for lunch."  
Volker and Brody paused at once and Dale agreed with her saying, "Best idea yet. Rumor has it, Becker is serving fresh salad and the last pieces of meat."  
Lisa smiled and asked, "Dr. Rush? Are you coming with us?"  
Rush had been listening to the conversation but hadn't stopped working. Not even when he answered with a sigh, "No, I have work to do. But if you have to go, then go. Eli, before you skive off work too, I need these calculations of yours."  
Park, Brody and Volker didn't hesitate any longer, stood up and went to the door.  
"Eli, are you coming?", Volker asked, when the younger man made no move to rise.  
"Go ahead, I'll catch you up in a minute", Eli said with a sigh, looking slightly jealous when the three scientists headed off to lunch.  
Rush looked sharply at Eli, his eyes narrowed to slits. The young man quickly turned away and tried to focus on the Ancient equation. He heard the doors closing, then it became quiet. For a few moments he continued working until he realized that someone was standing behind him.  
"Nearly done", he said hastily and tried to place his hand over the display so Rush couldn't see anything.  
"You just began", the scientist stated dryly.  
Eli took his hand away and ran his fingers through his hair, "I know, I'm sorry, doc."  
"You've been very inattentive the last few days", Rush replied.  
Eli winced a bit under the criticism and felt his cheeks starting to burn. "Was short of sleep", he murmured, a flimsy excuse and hoped Rush wouldn't push any further.  
"Really?", the Scot replied unmistakeably ironic. "Mr. Wallace, if you have a problem, you should perhaps have a talk with Lieutenant Johansen."  
Eli's cheeks reddened even more and Rush sighed. He had noticed that Eli was embarrassed by his words, but a dash of cold water never hurt anyone. Now he was wondering though, if he had been a bit too harsh on him; knowing what Eli had told him when he had been in sickbay. But Rush had decided not to make any kind of friendships anymore. He would never get over the loss of Gloria, his wife. Dr. Perry was out of reach except for short visits to Destiny in another body. Eli, however, had subverted his imaginary wall. Even if Rush tried to convince himself that Eli was just another student, he couldn't deny his true feelings for him. He actually liked Eli and trusted him more than any other person on board, although his sometimes boyishness could be unnerving.  
The confession the young man had made had even contributed to lowering Rush's walls. He was determined to hide it as it wasn't in Eli's interest if Rush would start indulging him. That wasn't his way. Nevertheless, he now said " Eli, you're far more intelligent than the others and I rely on you helping me. And even if you don't believe it, I appreciate your work as well as I appreciate you...but please", he enunciated the last word, "do try to concentrate on your work again." After his little speech he went back to his chair and continued working.  
Eli needed excatly two seconds to realize that his fears had become true. Rush had heard what Eli had told him in the infirmary. For a second, he felt sick to his stomach and more embarrassed than ever before in his life... and right now he wanted to be anywhere except here.  
Slowly he turned around in his chair and asked quietly, "You heard everything, didn't you?" He couldn't even look at the man, instead fumbling around with his console, waiting for an answer.  
Rush closed his eyes for a moment and took a slow, deep breath, before looking at Eli and saying in a very low voice "Yes".  
"You weren't supposed to hear that", Eli said quietly, "I'm sorry. Just-just forget it, okay?" He quickly stood up, grabbed his notes, and fled from the bridge. It didn't matter to him that he hadn't finished his calculations, he just needed to leave.  
Rush didn't say anything and let him go. When the doors had closed behind Eli he leaned back in his chair, wiped a hand over his face, and stared at the ceiling for a long moment.  
_That wasn't supposed to happen_ , he thought and felt angry that he had obviously said something wrong. But he couldn't unsay it so he decided it would be best if he gave Eli some time to himself and treat him as if nothing had happened.  
It was a welcome diversion when Destiny dropped out of hyperspace ten minutes later. Immediately, Young's voice came over the radio.  
"Rush, come in."  
The scientiest quickly checked his console to look for viable gates and replied, "Yes Colonel, there are two gates in range. I'll meet you in the gateroom. Rush out."  
He was just reaching to radio Eli when he changed his mind. The boy didn't have to be there all the time, although perhaps he already was. If he wasn't, they were capable of sending the kino without him. Rush grabbed his notepad (which had shrunked to a scarce few empty sheets) and headed to the gateroom.  
When he arrived, he quickly checked for Eli to find he wasn't there. Young must have thought Eli had accompanied Rush and asked, "Where's Mr. Wallace?"  
Rush shrugged his shoulders, but wishing to prevent Young from summoning him said, "He has some difficult calculations to do for me. He can join us later."  
Young nodded and Rush grabbed one of the kinos Eli always had deposited in the gateroom and dialed the first address. He sent the kino through and said (much to the joy of everyone else in hearing distance), "Abundant vegetation, mild climate, oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, a lake nearby."  
"Lt. Scott", the Colonel adressing his subordinate. "Assemble a team and check if it's really quite as scenic as Dr Rush says."  
"Yes, Colonel", Scott replied and started to head out, only to have Young hold him back once more and say quietly, "And Lieutenant – if you meet some local inhabitants, think about our last encounter and stay alert. I don't want to lose any of my people again."  
"Understood, Sir", Scott said and set off through the gate.  


As soon as Eli had left the bridge, he went straight to his quarter to put away his notes and radio. He was far too troubled to concentrate on any calculations and just wanted to be alone.  
He threw both items onto his bed and left again, heading to a ship section which was uninhabited and off limits. A few weeks ago, he had discovered a small observation room with some really comfortable seating.  
He headed for this room, closed the doors, rubbed his forehead, and sighed. The seats caught his eyes and he sank into a chair, his eyes fixed at the stars.  
"Why can't I never just shut up?", he murmured to himself. He couldn't think about anything except how embarrassed he felt. Besides the fact that Rush had heard everything he had said, Eli realized that Rush apparantly wasn't very pleased that Eli saw him as a surrogate father. This realization brought another wave of shame and he hid his face behind his hands.  
_What am I supposed to do now?_ , he pored over and over the situation again. He thought about Rush, how he would handle this situation.  
_He's ignoring it, of course_ , he thought bitterly. On one hand, he was glad Rush wouldn't mention his confession and hopefully would simply forget it. On the other hand, he was hurt that Rush was going to ignore it. He had never talked about his past before. Even when Gen. O'Neill and Dr. Rush had paid him a visit that first time after he had broken the hidden code in the game and obatined a position in the Icarus project, they only knew his mother was ill, but no further details.  
It was an act of faith, Eli had given Rush that night and he had chosen to ignore it. As much as he tried to convince himself it was for the best, he was deeply hurt and embarrassed. He would do everything possible to stay out of Rush's sight and more's the better, of everyones else's. His presence on the bridge or in the control interface room was out of question, but he could decide where he wanted to work as he could access data from both places. Yes, that was a possible solution. He knew he couldn't hide forever, but for now he was satisfied with the plan.  
"Someday it'll all be water under the bridge", he tried to give himself some confidence.  
He decided to stay here for a while. Of course he had noticed that Destiny had stopped but he wouldn't go to the gateroom. Not yet; afterall what do they need him for, sending the kino through and telling the Colonel if the air is breathable…?  
He snorted angrily. _Completely unimportant, anyone can do that_ , he thought and suddenly got the feeling there was a wide gap between him and all the other people on board. He knew this feeling was foolish, but he couldn't stifle it.  
Despite all the adverse conditions, he liked being on Destiny. Right now though he wished he was back in his bed on earth and his mother was baking him some of his favorite chocolate chip cookies.  
Eli sighed again. Idle wishes..he was here and had to deal with the situation.  
_Maybe we'll be lucky and the Colonel will grant shore leave for us all_ , he hoped.  
He learned sometime later that his wish would come true...


	2. Melody and Eli

Melody had put her work aside. Like so many other times, she had given up trying to concentrate on the numbers when her head was filled with music. She had an above average talent for maths, but she was even more talented with music. Every single note or sound she ever saw or heard was immediately saved in her memory and she constantly sang or hummed softly to herself without even realizing it. Many of her old classmates had thought her a little crazy when she would suddenly start to hum during lessons. They mocked her constantly, but Melody had learned to endure it. She knew that maths was actually music and vice-versa which explained why she was so good in both.

Right now, she was sitting absentmindedly on her bed humming. This was what she’d prefer to spend the whole day doing, but on Destiny she had to be useful; there was no place for her music. That’s why she spent nearly all of her time alone in her quarters or sought out completely remote places where she was sure no one could hear her.  
_Maybe a little trip is a good idea_ , she thought and she realized that the ship had stopped some minutes ago. She wouldn’t go to the observation deck though, at least not the 'official' one; well not yet anyway. She grabbed her mp3 player and left her quarters.

She had to walk only a few meters until she arrived at the uninhabited (and actually off limits) section of the ship. Eventually, she’d have to ask Colonel Young or Dr. Rush for permission to be here, but she knew this section was safe. The risk of getting caught was also minimal as most of the personnel were surely either in the gateroom or on the main observation deck.

A few minutes later she had arrived at 'her' observation deck and slapped the door mechanism. The doors had barely opened when she started to slip through and bounced against an obstacle.  
"Ouch" the obstacle said and Melody, who hadn’t been that steady on her feet, fell on her behind and glanced up startled. She stiffened when she recognized Eli, who was stepping out of her observation room at exactly that same moment, and he looked at her in surprise.

"Sorry" he said and offered a hand to help her up. A bit hesitantly, Melody accepted and Eli pulled her to her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked.  
"No harm done" she answered and patted down her trousers.

"I thought I was the only one wandering around here without permission" Eli said, trying to place who he had just run into. He honestly couldn’t remember having even seen this girl until now.  
"Please don’t tell anyone you’ve seen me here, Mr. Wallace, please" Melody begged and tucked a strand of hair shyly behind her one ear.

Eli winced feeling awkward. Okay so he was well known on this ship, but why hadn’t he noticed this young woman? It also discomforted him that she called him formally by his last name. It was almost like Chloe addressing him formally as ‚Sir‘.  
"It’s just Eli" he murmured, slightly embarrassed. "I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten your name."  
"Melody" she assisted him, slightly embarrassed as well.

"And… why haven’t I seen you here before?" Eli continued, quickly becoming aware that he was starting to babble (which actually he found as welcome diversion to his thoughts about Rush.) His lack of tact was normal for him and as usual, he realized it a second too late.

"I mean, of course I’ve seen you, but not so often and never in the mess hall" he added hastily and thought this day was shaping up to be one of the worst he’d ever experienced.

To his surprise, Melody smiled and answered "It’s okay, Eli. I do know what you mean and I’m not offended."  
"Oh… okay… that’s… good" he stammered and it completely slipped him by that Melody had subtly avoided answering his question.  
"Shouldn’t you be on the bridge or in the gateroom?" she asked instead.  
Eli scratched his head awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess I should. Needed a break."

"I didn’t realize the someone else would know about my small observation deck" Melody said and looked past Eli to the large window.  
"Found it by accident when I explored this section for Dr. Rush,“ he replied. „But no one else knows. I told him there was nothing interesting here and no one ever asked again."

"So, this is our little secret?" she asked innocently. Eli felt his cheeks getting slightly warmer. "Yeah, sure" he said.

"Thanks. Don’t let me keep you. Was nice to meet you, Eli." She slid deftly past him, gave him another smile, and closed the doors.

Eli looked a bit confused after her and said very belatedly (more to the closed door now), "Same here…" He almost wanted to open the door again but changed his mind. He had stuff to do other than wondering about this strange encounter.

He had been gone for nearly an hour and had not the slightest idea why the ship had dropped out of FTL. Sighing, thinking about Rush again, he made his way back to his quarters to get some things. However, he would see to it that he made himself scarce for the time being.

After the doors had closed, Melody leaned against them and sighed. She had been glad that she had had this room always for herself. She wasn’t very happy that Eli knew about it and was obviously dropping by here too, although he did seem to be nice, after all. Until now, she had him only seen and heard him talking once on Icarus base and he had sounded a bit too arrogant for her taste. He didn‘t this time though, and she thought how a first impression of someone could be wrong.

Remembering why she had come (and hoping Eli was gone) she wandered over to the large window and was slightly disappointed to see nothing other than black space with sparkling stars; no nebulas...nothing. Maybe on the other side? This would mean she would have to pay a visit to the official observation deck. She took out her mp3 player, put the left earplug in her ear, and did what she loved most – singing.

Almost hesitantly, Eli walked into the gateroom.  
"Mr. Wallace, so good of you to join us" Young said with a tone which Eli was not sure if he was being polite or sarcastic. He decided to stay quiet, gather all the necessary information and pop off as soon as possible. Rush was standing at his console next to the Colonel, looking up for a brief moment when he had entered the room and instantly giving his attention back to the display. Eli felt a slight pain in his heart, but tried not to show it.

"What did I miss?" he asked accentuated cheerfully, taking his usual place beside Rush and focusing on the console with the many buttons.  
"Looks good" Young said and just at that moment the room became occupied by many soldiers, some still putting their gear on, with Lieutenant Scott leading the way.

"We’re ready, Colonel" Scott announced and Young nodded towards Rush. He dialed the gate again and soon the away team had passed through the event horizon.  
"Colonel Young, this is Scott" the Lt.'s voice sounded seconds later from Young‘s radio.  
"What’s it like?" Young asked.

"So far, so good, no one here. We’re spreading out now. I’ll report back within half an hour."

"Copy that. And try to find something to eat, I can’t stand the greyish mush any longer."  
"Yes, Sir" Scott replied dutifully and after the Lt.’s "Scott out", the wormhole closed.

"Let’s hope for the best. Rush. Can you prevent Destiny from jumping to FTL yet once the countdown has ended?" Young addressed the scientist.  
„No" Rush answered brusquely and Young rolled his eyes, unnoticed.  
"Can you at least find a way to stay in range of the gate for longer than 8 hours?" he went on asking very politely and calmly. 

Rush gave him a questioning look. "Why should we stay any longer?" he queried. "I think 8 hours is more than enough time to bring provisions on board."  
Young came closer to Rush and lowered his voice, so no one else could hear him.

"Let’s just say, I have a good feeling about this planet and we all could use some time off, don’t you think?"  
Rush looked at Young, as if he had just suggested giving a ballett performance in a tutu.  
"No, I don‘t" he replied, then said "We have so much work to do we just don’t have the luxury of sending people off to laze around."

Young just smiled. "Dr. Rush, if Lt. Scott declares the planet safe I think it’s worth it to stay here for a while. You’re even the first one who will leave the ship to 'laze around' on the planet. You’re working without stopping again and if you continue to do so, you’ll crack up...again."

"This was just caffeine and nicotine deprivation that first time" Rush burst out. "And I put no value on vacations. The ship comes first; even you should have realized that by now."  
"That wasn’t a suggestion, Dr. Rush" Young said still cordial, but determined.

Rush’s jaw dropped and he glowered at him.  
"Ehm…" a quiet voice sounded suddenly behind the two squabblers. "I can take care of things here. If we’re lucky, there are some other gates in range and, well, fortunately, we can control the engines." Eli said, looking only at Young whose face had brightened considerably.

"Eli" Rush‘s voice sounded indignantly, but both Eli and Young simply ignored him.  
"Thank you, Mr. Wallace. Please see to it right away." Relief flashed over Elis face and without another word he left.  
Rush looked extremely disgruntled and Young said propietorly, "Look Rush, we all desperately need some time off. We now know about Destiny‘s mission and the ship won’t get away without us. A few days won’t matter. And beside that, I really am worried about you. You look as if you haven’t slept or eaten in days."

The scientiest sighed. Since Eli had stabbed him in the back, he had to accept the fact (whether he liked it or not) that the Colonel would put his plan into action as soon as Scott bought the good news. There was of course, still the possibility that neither Scott nor Eli would be successful in their tasks. Plus at the moment he had neither the time nor the inclination for a wordy debate with the Colonel, the result of which he knew he would probably lose. To be honest, he couldn’t think of anyone else who would refuse a brief vacation. But he wouldn’t go, not even if the Colonel turned upside down. That’s why he said, still glowering at him, "I’m quite fine. I’ll be heading back to the bridge. Mr. Wallace could need help."  
To Rush’s complete surprise, Young clapped him on the shoulder and said "Best idea of the day." Then he left the gateroom and Rush’s eyes followed him, perplexed.

Brody, standing by the other console, thought he heard something like "infantile, insane" and "waste of time" from Rush, what made him grin broadly. He quickly put on his serious face though, when Rush called out to him when leaving the room "Stay here and dial the gate if necessary."  
"Understood" Brody confirmed and as soon as Rush was gone, he burst into laughter.

Rush had expected Eli to be on the bridge but when he entered, it was empty. Not even the other scientists were there.  
_Really?...still on break?_ , Rush thought slightly angry and activated his radio. "Eli, where are you?" he asked directly. It took a while until he got an answer.  
"Control interface room" Eli answered brusquely. Rush sighed to himself. "Don’t you think the bridge is a better place for these scans?" There was a longer silence this time until Eli replied "I can handle this from here." Rush frowned, but just said "Suit yourself. Rush out."

He clamped the radio back onto his belt and sat down in the Kirk-chair. It seemed Eli still needed some more time to himself. Well as long as he did his job, Rush would overlook his behaviour for today. He turned back to the controls and a few seconds later was completely focused on his work.


	3. Eli's misery

Two hours later Eli tossed the radio aside and rubbed his hand over his eyes. He wasn’t feeling well at the moment. He wasn’t ill, but he couldn’t stop mulling over and over again how he had revealed his deepest inner feelings to Rush and the man didn’t seem to care.  
Like an ulcer, the revelation burned a hole in him and caused continuing waves of new pain. He would have preferred to curl up in a little ball under a blanket and just cry. He knew he was acting childishly, but he didn’t know what he should do to squelsh this unpleasant feeling. Suddenly, he could hear familiar, soft voices approaching.

"… no, he thinks everything’s perfectly fine, but I’ve started avoiding him. He’s annoying me with his brattyness" he heard a female voice and an ice cold hand seemed to clamp around his heart. It was Chloe.  
"Why don’t you just tell him?" he could hear Matt reply. Apparently he had returned from the planet and both seemed to be heading his way as their voices were getting clearer. Eli tried not to listen in on their conversation, but the words seemed to be floating right in his direction. 

"I can’t do that, it would hurt him awfully. And until now he was always a good friend of mine. And...I think, he has a crush on me."  
"Who wouldn‘t" Matt answered and Eli held his breath. Who where they talking about?  
"Stop teasing me, you flatterer" Chloe declared, slighty flustered and pretending indignation. "Maybe next time I can just avoid him, then he won’t be hurt and I can have more time for myself and others." 

Eli had huddled in a corner. Under no circumstances did he want to be discovered by either of them. To his relief, the voices faded away as Chloe and Matt began heading in another direction.  
"Nevertheless, I think you should tell him the truth…" he heard Matt saying until the voices were gone again. 

Eli stood completely frozen, not believing what he had just heard. It was obvious, Chloe was talking about him. In shock, he let himself drop onto a nearby bench and stared blankly at the wall. He couldn’t believe it; first Rush, now Chloe. The rift he had always felt before between himself and the others became suddenly an insurmountable canyon. Everyone on board, everything about them that he thought he’d known, they had all become strangers. 

"Eli, do you read?" Young’s voice suddenly blared over the radio and he answered quickly and without thinking. "Yes." 

There was a brief pause until Young asked "I‘m just checking in to see if you have found anything useful. If we wanna take shore leave, we will need that assessment soon, if it’s even possible. The away team gave us a go already." 

Eli stood up and hurried over to a console. "Um…yes… yes, should be possible" he said, after he had glanced over at the readings. Fortunately, he had been nearly finished when he had overheard the discussion between his two friends, ex-friends, he corrected himself. 

"Are you sure, Eli?" Young asked again and the young man pulled himself together and said with a steadier voice than he felt, "There are enough gates on our present route. Plus, we could always turn the ship around, if necessary. Two weeks shore leave should be possible." 

Again there was a short break until Young answered "Sounds good. Does Dr. Rush share your views?"  
"You need to ask him yourself" Eli said slightly barbed, which luckily Young seemed to have missed.  
"I thought you two were working together?"  
"He’s on the bridge" Eli just said.  
"Thank you, Mr. Wallace. Young out." 

Eli set the radio and his notes down on his console and nearly jogged back to the restricted area of the ship. He neither wanted to see nor hear anyone again. 

Meanwhile, Colonel Young was on his way to the bridge. When he arrived, Rush was sitting as usual in the boss chair while the other stations were occupied by the scientists working the current shift.  
Rush lifted his head briefly to see who had entered the bridge. When he spotted Young, his mood quickly soured. When the Colonel smiled at him, nothing good could come of it...for him. Quickly he looked away and quietly prayed he was just having a bad hallucination.  
"Dr. Rush?" Young asked politely.  
Rush sighed noticeably and managed to grunt out an indifferent "Hm?"  
"Mr. Wallace has told me there are enough gates on our present route for granting the crew 2 weeks of shore leave." 

Of course Rush knew that Eli was right. He had come to the same conclusion, but why had the Colonel personally come to the bridge and asked for Rush‘s confirmation? When he glanced up, he knew the answer. Drs. Park, Volker and another scientist (who was covering for Brody at the moment and whose name Rush couldn’t remember because he found her completely incompetent) all turned around and grinned broadly at the Colonel. 

His last hope to prevent this brief vacation had failed. Grinding his teeth, he capitulated and said derisively, "That is correct."  
"Good" Young said cheerfully.. "I want you to know I keep my word, you’re one of the first to go." 

It was too much. Rush tried very hard to rein in his temper when he replied "As I already told you, Colonel, I really don’t need a vacation. I have work to do." Saying that, he put his head back down and focused intently on his display. Young, who had no intention of letting Rush off the hook so easily, addressed the other three scientists. "Why don’t you three go to your quarters and pack the things you’ll need?" 

None of the three needed a second invitation and left the bridge so quickly that Rush was wondering if humans were also able to jump to FTL. When the doors had closed, Young stepped down the few stairs and said calmly but insistently "Dr. Rush, you’ve two choices right now. First, you’ll visit this planet voluntarily... take some days off, relax. Second, I’ll pay a visit to TJ, with whom I’ll have a chat about your current health status, oh, and I guarantee she’ll agree with me about your need to rest. Then, I’ll escort you myself to this planet. Do I make myself clear?" The Colonel gave Rush a little smile and he clenched his fists unconsciously. 

"You have absolutely no right to ask Lt. Johansen to divulge any medically relevant facts regarding my person. I don’t feel the need to relax. I’m perfectly fine. And now I would ask that you leave me alone, please. I think you have to arrange a shore leave schedule. Stop bothering me with this nonsense." Rush stood up, ignored the slightly taken aback Colonel Young, and left the bridge.  
Young sighed. _That man is a lot of work_ , he thought. He had no intention of giving up that simply. It was true that Rush and he had bumped heads far too often. But, as time had passed, they had learned to tolerate and in a way respect each other. Fact was, they needed Rush and Young really was worried about him. As far as he was concerned, TJ could have restrict him to the infirmary for several more days. His wounds may have healed, but he had never really completely recovered. Shaking his head he headed to his room to arrange a rotation for the crew. Later, he would deal with Rush...lotta, lotta work. 

When Eli opened the doors to the small observation room, he abruptly came to a halt, flabbergasted by what he saw. Melody was standing in front of the large window, her back to him...singing. Eli’s jaw dropped in astonishment; she had such a lovely and high, clear voice that it gave him a warm feeling. He stood frozen in the doorway, just staring and listening. 

Sometimes when singing, Melody would dance around a bit. When she happened to turn and see Eli standing there, she squeaked in shock and pressed her back up against the window, scared to death and tongue-tied. In her eyes Eli saw expressed something he was well aware of – embarrassment and a spark of anger. Instantly, he felt his cheeks getting warmer and felt guilty. 

"I’m…I’m so sorry, I didn’t know…" he stammered and entered the room, the doors closing behind him.  
Melody was still staring at him in shock and Eli moved carefully towards her.  
"I didn’t mean to disturb you, really, I had no idea, you were here." He looked at her apologetically and Melody seemed to calm down. Quickly, she removed her earplugs and switched off the player.She still hadn’t said anything though.  
"Melody? Are you alright?" Eli asked.  
"No one was supposed to hear that" she said very softly, her voice quivering slightly.  
Eli felt miserable, but he just didn’t want to leave it like that with her. "I am really very, very sorry" he repeated. "But… you sang so beautifully, I was just … stunned."  
"It’s okay, Eli, you don’t need to flatter me. Just forget it." Melody had spoken very quietly, it wasn’t unfriendly, just resigned. She wanted to move past Eli, but he blocked her path.  
"Wait, please" he urged and Melody actually stopped. She turned around again and looked at him inquiringly.  
"I didn’t mean to flatter you" Eli said honestly astonished "It was the truth. You truly have a beautiful voice."  
The corner of Melodys mouth twitched and for a split second Eli saw a small smile, which quickly and sadly disappeared again.  
"Thank you" she said hesitantly and turned again to leave.  
"Melody" Eli said, not really knowing what he should say. He just knew that he didn’t want her to go away like this.  
She gave him a questioning look and waited for him to say something.  
He opened and closed his mouth two times until something came to his mind. It was a completely different subject, but his brain was drawing a blank. "Are you looking forward to shore leave and the planet?" he burst out.  
Melody frowned and asked "Shore leave? And which planet?"  
"Oh, of course, you don’t know yet" he said sheepishly and ran his hand through his hair. Right now he felt really, really stupid.  
Melody seemed to guess his real intention and accomodated him saying, "Don’t bother, Eli. I’m not angry. I was just… startled. I’m sorry I reacted the way I did.You’re really nice, Eli." She gave him a smile and added a bit apologeticly, "I really do have to go back to work. If I don’t finish with these calculations, Nicho…" she suddenly floundered and blushed, hastily finishing her sentence "…Dr. Rush, of course, will be angry."  
"You’re call Dr. Rush by his first name?" Eli immediately pressed, realizing what she had nearly said.  
This time Melody‘s cheeks became red with embarassment and she answered tersly "Of course not. I don’t even think he knows about me. 'Rush' just sounds a bit… tuneless."  
Eli wasn’t sure what to think about that, but then he decided to let it go. It probably was just a slip of the tongue and afterall, she was right. Eli for one, prefered to call Dr. Rush just 'Doc". Why shouldn‘t Melody have a preference?  
"I really have to go, Eli. Ciao." Without waiting for an answer, she was out the door and gone, the doors closing behind her. Eli was alone. 

"Great" he said aloud to himself. "Seems I have a talent for pissing everyone off." With a deep sigh he lay down on the spacious seat and looked to the stars. Strangely, he thought now about Melody and her voice which he just couldn’t get out of his head. When he thought of it, he felt again that warm feeling and he smiled. Why hadn’t he ever noticed her until today? Obviously she was also busy with maths, he realized. Suddenly his thoughts turned back to Chloe and the conversation he had overheared. His smile vanished and he felt that troublesome feeling again. Next, Rush joined the picture and Eli closed his eyes, trying to concentrate again on Melody and her singing. 

Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep and dreamt a confusing mixture of Chloe, who was constantly running away from him; Rush, who told him over and over again he’d made too many mistakes and that he was ashamed of him; and last, but not least, Melody, who sang only for him ...but he couldn't hear anything.


	4. The Artifact

An hour later, Colonel Young was standing in the gateroom which was filled with personnel. Any news that contained the words 'planet' and 'shore leave' in the same sentence would spread like wildfire and many of the crew had come to hear the report first hand. Young climbed up a few steps so everyone could see him and called for silence, which occured instantly. The many pairs of eyes he could see radiated a mixture of curiosity, excitement, and joy and Young smiled before he began.

"As you all may have heard, we have decided to grant all personnel some days off. First, we’ll need to send a team through the gate to look for an appropriate campsite and build some shelters. If anyone would like to join the first team, please report after this announcement to Master Sergeant Greer and make your case on how he or she can be helpful. As soon as the campsite is ready, we’ll divide into groups for at least four days of shore leave. These groups will contain an equal number of civilians and military personnel, so everyone’s safety is guaranteed. As of right now, we have not found either any dangerous animals or other inahbitants, which doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t there. This is why every single one of us has to be careful and use the buddy system, especially if you are going into unexplored areas."  
Young‘s eyes were searching for Greer and Scott.  
"Lt Scott, Sgt Greer, assemble a construction battalion and see to it that you work as quickly and efficiently as possible. We only have so many gates in range for a limited time period. As you all no doubt know, while we’re able to navigate the ship, we still can’t prevent it from jumping to FTL if the countdown clock expires. Those of you who are not in the construction battalion, pack a small bag and be ready to go. You’ll be informed when it’s your turn ashore." 

After Young had finished his announcement, many people broke into spontaneous applause, which made him grin broadly. He could literally feel the moral go higher as personnel left the gate room in high spirits. Around Sgt Greer and Lt Scott were crowded soldiers as well as civilians, and Young gladly left it up to the two of them to decide who they would take along on the first team. He just needed to turn his attention to his very own problem called Rush, when the man himself came walking towards him. He was carrying a well-filled backpack and looked ready to leave.  
Young froze and stared at him flabbergasted until Rush was almost in front of him. "I thought you didn’t want to go on vacation?" the Colonel asked with a chuckle.  
"I don’t. But the kino may have found something interesting. It’s worth taking a look-see... consider it sightseeing."  
Young‘s grin changed to a more serious look and he thought for a moment.  
"Fine...but you’re not going alone. We don’t know much about this planet. A soldier will accompany you and watch out for your safety."  
Rush‘s expression turned thunderous, "An escort won’t be necessary, Colonel. But, if you insist on me being escorted, I’ll take Mr. Wallace with me. It‘s just a ruin standing completely alone on a flat plain, no lifesigns detected. It would be a waste of military personnel."  
Young gave Rush a penetrating glare for a few seconds. Finally he gave in, glad Rush was leaving under his own will instead of being wrestled through the gate on an enforced vacation.  
"Okay, we’ll do it your way. You take Mr. Wallace along."  
"Send him after me" Rush said and before Young could stop him, he stepped amongst the construction battalion through the wormhole.  
"Son of a…" Young bit back his comment on Rush‘s capricious action and radioed Eli instead. The boy wasn’t very happy about having to go after Rush, but promised to be there soon. He had fallen asleep in the observation room for about 20 minutes, but even this short nap had refreshed him. After he had woken, he had headed back to the control room and continued to work until Young had finally reached him. He quickly packed some essentials from his quarters and rushed to the gateroom where Young was waiting for him.

"Rush headed out on his own...again" the Colonel explained with an undtertone of anger. Eli wasn’t surprised by that. "And why is it me who has to go after him?" The word’s slipped out of his mouth.  
Young had pretty much expected such a reaction. Rush shouldn’t be left to his own devices and it was Eli who had to pay the price. He was the only one who had managed to create a kind of bond with Rush and he respected him.  
Young sighed and composed his next sentence carefullly as a request "I wanted him to take some time off, so of course he refused. Now, he seems to have found something interesting and he explicitly asked for you. Please keep an eye on him, will you? Otherwise, I will have to send a soldier with him. I’d like to maintain the peace a little longer."  
Eli understood the Colonel only too well. The relationship between Rush and Young had never been what you would call friendly, but the cease-fire they seemed to have agreed to some time ago wasn’t only positively recognized by the young MIT dropout. With a sigh, he just nodded and Young said "If you have any kind of trouble or you think something seems strange, let us know, no matter how trivial. No one wants an incident like the last time we were on a planet."  
"Yes, Colonel" Eli replied and set off. 

When he emerged out of the wormhole, he paused a moment and took in his surroundings. In the distance, he could see a lake. On the banks, civilians and soldiers alike were busy building shelters made of leaves and wood. The wormhole behind him collapsed and when he turned around he could see a enormous mountain chain on the horizon and maybe 500 meters away something small moving and obviously heading towards a ruin. Eli didn’t hesitate any longer and set out in pursuit. It had to be Rush. However, Eli wasn’t in a huge hurry, he could still see him without any problem. The building, or whatever it was where Rush was heading, was standing on a wide plain. Only grass was growing there and the tree boundary was probably at least 200 meters away. The one thing Eli could clearly make out – the glade hadn‘t cropped up naturally...and neither had the ruin.  
Torn between curiosity and the wish to not have to work together with Rush at the moment, he came closer to the structure. It took a few more minutes until he could see the ruin better. Rush had almost arrived at the obelisk (at least, it looked like an obelisk, Eli thought), and had started to examine the walls. When he was nearly there, his assumption was confirmed.  
On a large stone platform soared a pylon made of stone, it’s walls garnished with elaborate inlaid work, alien symbols, and apparently also mathematical formulas. Rush was already out of sight behind the pylon and Eli measured its approximate length with his steps. The size of the area was about 16 qm².  
"Mr. Wallace!" Rush‘s voice came from somewhere on his right and Eli turned the next corner. The scientist was standing there, holding in his hand the remote control of a kino and staring at the display.  
"What is it?" Eli asked and walked to his side. He was still looking down at the display,when he pointed to a part of the pylon in front of him and said "There has to be an entrance to the inside."  
Normally Eli would have been raging with curiosity by now, but he still wasn’t sure what line he should take with Rush. Since the senior scientist was still holding the remote control in his hands, Eli took out his own remote and studied the readings as well.  
"The symbols and formulas on the outer wall are a code" Rush noticed after some minutes and studied them very carefully. At this hint, Eli took a closer look as well, but realized he was completely unfocused. Upset over his lack of concentration, Rush, and his own inability to handle the situation, he said, "Maybe we should inform the others. They might be more capable of figuring this out."  
He had spoken flatly, without anger... just quiet and low. Nevertheless, Rush interrupted his studies and looked Eli straight in the eyes. Eli looked away and mumbled "Was just an idea."  
Rush sighed. "Eli…" he began, but paused not having the slightest idea how to say what needed to be said, "I need you" he finally uttered. "Yes... sometimes you make mistakes and yes...sometimes you’re disconcerting with your chatter, but you’re still the smartest of the lot."  
Eli stared at Rush and realized that the scientist was trying to bring up the subject he absolutely did not want to hear right now.  
"But please...could you pull yourself back together and forget what has happened? I need you, right now, completely focused on this problem. I gave you some time alone this morning, but we really should concentrate in the here and now, don’t you think?"  
Rush knew he was cutting into Eli‘s heart – again, but he couldn’t help himself. At this moment he wished more than anything that Mandy was here. It was so much easier when she was around. Eli‘s cheeks had slightly reddened as if something had hit him hard emotionally. Eli tried to maintain a neutral expression on his face and eventually nodded.  
"It‘s already been forgotten, that’s not the point" he lied. Under no circumstance did he want to admit to Rush that he was right and that he had hurt him once more.  
Rush frowned. "Then what exactly is the problem?" he asked.  
"Just look around!" Eli nearly shouted. "This whole obelisk is covered with graphic characters, inlaid work, formulas and I don’t know what else. It’ll take WEEKS to find something useful. We are gonna need help if you really wanna go inside." Eli‘s face suddenly showing determination.  
Rush was pretty sure he wasn’t wrong at all, but unfortunately imbedded in Eli‘s words was a grain of truth – it was too much for both of them alone in the time alloted them on the planet. However, he also didn’t want people running around bothering him with stupid questions. Except for Eli, he thought no one else capable of being a real help.  
The young MIT dropout noticed Rush hesitating and suddenly a second idea came to mind. "Melody could help us" he proposed. "She’s as talented with numbers as you and I."  
Rush looked up. "Melody? Who is that?" he asked.  
"Don’t you know her?" Eli asked in surprise, until he rememberd what Melody had told him; _I don’t even think he knows about me_ , were her words and obviously she had been right. He felt anger rising in him but it quickly subsided in the same moment. It came to mind that until a few hours ago, he, like Rush, hadn’t even had the slightest idea of her existence.  
"No, I have never heard this name" Rush confirmed once again and waited for an explanation.  
"She does calculations for you" Eli said, but Rush shrugged his shoulders.  
"How about I bring her here?" Eli offered.  
"Do you think her capable?" Rush pressed. He really ought to know if there was a second math genius on board.  
"Yes, I do." Eli answered almost defiantly and Rush said with a sigh "Very well, radio her."  
Eli just nodded and a smile appeared on his lips. Hopefully this would be a nice surprise for the girl. It was about time that Rush get to know who else was working for him. He moved some meters away to have some privacy and considered the best way to contact Melody. After all he knew nothing about her, except her first name.  
Doubtful, he looked down at his radio and decided to ask Dr. Park to bring the girl along.  
"Dr. Park, please come in."  
"Eli?" she answered surprised.  
"Yes, we need you here. Dr. Rush found an obelisk, we need more people for breaking a code."  
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line, then Eli could hear a sigh.  
"That means...no vacation?" Dr. Park asked, clearly disappointed.  
Eli looked over at Rush to see if he really was out of range and said with a lower voice "You know Rush…"  
"Never mind. Shall I bring anyone else?"  
"The more, the better. And please bring Melody along" Eli said, hoping Dr. Park would know her.  
There was another brief pause until Lisa asked with some surprise "Are you talking about Melody Hansen?"  
"To be honest, I just met her this morning and she only told me her first name" Eli admitted slightly embarrassed. "Tall, long brown hair and green eyes.Oh, and she can sing" he described her shortly.  
"That’s Miss Hansen. Very well, I’ll inform her and Colonel Young that we have work to do. See you later. Park out."  
"Thanks" Eli said, and connection was terminated.


	5. Convergence

Dr. Park sighed, looking down at her radio which she still held in her hands. It just figured that Dr. Rush had managed to find work again. Why couldn’t the man ever just...relax? Now his team had to pay the price...again. Lisa already saw herself sweating in the dust calculating something while the others lay happily puttering at the lake or swimming. Additionally, there was Eli‘s request to bring Miss Hansen along. Lisa had seen the young woman from time to time and bandied a few words with her here and there. If she remembered correctly, that had been back on the Icarus base. On the ship she had just seen her once in the mess hall, well after midnight, when eveyone else was asleep. She also knew that she preferred working the night shifts or in her quarters so she could be alone.  
_It’s time she socializes again_ , Lisa thought with a touch of guilt and was almost grateful Eli asked for the girl. She decided to bring her the good news in person, but before she could do so she had to look up where exactly Melody‘s quarters were. For that she would check the files in the computer and inform some of the rest of the science team that their vacation was postponed for now prior to heading off for Melody‘s quarters.  
She still had to search for it a while, being so remote. At last she stood in front of the door and knocked politely. When there was no response, she knocked again and called out "Miss Hansen?" She wasn’t any luckier the second time. Dr. Park sighed and turned to go away when the young woman herself came walking down the corridor towards her. Melody froze with a look of disbelief; obviously Lisa was looking for her.  
"Miss Hansen" Lisa greeted her with a smile and Melody stared at her wide-eyed. "Dr. Rush and Mr. Wallace need your help on the planet. Pack a bag and meet us in the gateroom in 20 minutes" Lisa informed her.  
Finally Melody found her voice. "Me? Why me?" she asked slightly upset.  
"Mr. Wallace has asked particularly for you" Lisa explained.  
"But, I never was… I mean, I’ve never been on a planet to work on something…" she stammered, becoming quite nervous.  
"Then it’s about time. You contribute a lot to our work and it’s time you stepped forward. And don’t be afraid of Dr. Rush; he barks, but he doesn’t bite. Well, at least not that hard." Lisa gave her a smile to cheer her up a bit.  
Melody on the other hand seemed to grow more upset and said "I don’t think I’m the right person to work on Dr. Rush‘s team. At least, not directly together with him."  
Lisa now looked concerned and said "Of course you are. Otherwise he wouldn’t have asked for you. Don’t hide your light under a bush. Shall I help you pack your bag?" she offered when Melody didn’t answer.  
"No… thank you," Melody finally said and Lisa reminded her once more; "The gateroom...20 minutes. Don’t be late." Then she went off to her own quarters to pack.  
Melody was still standing thunderstruck in the corridor, her heart hammering.  
_That just can’t be true_ , she thought. She didn’t want to go to the planet, she didn't want to be forced to work together with other people, especially not with Nicholas. Just thinking about him caused her stomach to tingle. One of the reasons why she never made any appearances was the fact that she had a soft spot for the scientist. She knew his wife had died and she also knew about his relationship with Dr. Perry, so she tried to avoid seeing him whenever possible. Until now, it had always worked for her. Until now. She leant against the door and covered her face in her hands.  
_If I only had never met Eli_ , she thought angrily and entered her quarters to face the inevitable. Maybe she would get the chance to seclude herself somewhere. 

Eli was hunkered down on the other side of the pylon and trying to focus on the many symbols.  
_I hope Melody gets here soon_ he thought, sighing and looked over his shoulder. In the far distance he could spot some moving dots, which appeared to be heading in his direction.

"About time" he burst out and he heard Rush’s voice at once reply "Did you find something?" Moments later the scientist was by his side.  
"Ah, no, sorry, I just meant we’re getting help.“ He pointed over his shoulder and Rush’s eyes followed his gesture. His expression darkened noticeably when he noticed not one person but four heading their way.  
"Didn’t you say something about ONE person?" he asked with an undertone of anger.  
Eli shrugged his shoulders. "We could really use more help" he just said and looked again over his shoulder to see if he could spot Melody.  
Rush murmured something Eli didn’t catch and went back arround the pylon. The young man knew the scientist wasn’t very pleased about the 'more help'.

Slowly the figures came closer and Eli first spotted Drs. Park and Volker leading the team. Behind them he saw Brody and, to his joy, Melody. He stood up and brushed the dust from his trousers, even though he knew they’d get dirty again soon enough; but Melody didn’t deserve a dust cloud as a welcome gift.  
"Hey" Eli greeted the small troop when they came in range. His eyes slid to Melody, who was looking down and not looking happy at all. Dr. Rush emerged from behind the obelisk and gave all of them a short look until his eyes fell on Melody. The way he narrowed his eyes to near slits and gave her a puzzled look combined to confirm to Eli that he hadn’t seen her before either.  
"Drs Park, Volker and Mr. Brody, keep yourselves busy with the south side, Miss…" Rush asked, his eyes focused on Melody, who now hesitantly lifted her head. "Hansen" she said very quietly.  
"Miss Hansen, you work with Mr. Wallace. I just hope he wasn’t overestimating your mathematical abilities." Rush turned back to his work as Melody’s cheeks unmistakably reddened. Eli jumped quickly down to her and said comfortingly "Don’t worry about him: he’s always that unfriendly. Come on, I’ll show what this is all about."  
He climbed up the platform again and held his hand out, but she only handed him her bag and leapt up very gracefully on her own.  
"Eli, why me?" she asked, once she was on top.  
He looked at her puzzled. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.  
"Why did you call on me, of all people? I don’t belong to your team and I have never been needed on a mission. Since we’ve arrived on Destiny, I have only worked on my laptop or in the control room. So why me suddenly?" Melody‘s eyes seemed to reach into his soul and in her look was a kind of sadness and a despair Eli couldn’t bear. He took a step forward, looked in her eyes and said "Actually I had hoped you’d be happy. Does anyone even know that you exist? You belong to this crew, like eveyone else. To this family."  
Melody looked down and whispered "I have my reasons why I prefer to be alone." br> "So tell me" Eli asked.  
Her eyes met his again. "We‘ve barely known each other a few hours, Eli. I don’t owe you an explanation."  
"I’m sorry, I was just trying to be nice." Eli retreated a bit and was soon interrupted by a sharp voice.  
"Eli, Miss Hansen." Rush had appeared behind them and looked at them cloudily. "We have much work to do, perhaps you could adjourn your discussion to another time?"  
Melody turned pale and murmured an apology. Then she turned to the wall and started quietly to study the symbols. Eli gave Rush an apologetic look and tried to concentrate on the markings again.  


Some hours later it started getting dark. "I say we call it a day" Dr. Park said. She was tired like her colleagues. Rush had been standing frozen in place in front his wall for some time, gazing at it so intensely, almost as if he could break the code with just the force of his thoughts.  
"Dr. Rush?" Lisa asked carefully and the scientist just grumbled "Go. I’m going to stay a bit longer."  
Before he would change his mind, Park, Volker, Brody and Eli said their ’good nights’ and grabbed their gear. Eli looked around for Melody and saw her sitting on the opposite side from Rush on the ground, staring absent-mindedly at the obelisk. He jumped down from the platform and came closer.  
"Melody?" he asked, when she didn’t react to his presence. Still she seemed not to notice him. Eli was just getting ready to call her name again when he suddenly heard that she was humming. A smile appeared on his lips and softly he tapped on her shoulder. The reaction came promptly, she flinched and almost jumped out of her skin. "It's just me" Eli said hastily and lifted both hands to show her everything was fine. "I think that’s enough for one day. Let’s go back to the camp." He offered her his hand again and this time, she accepted it. Eli pulled her up and asked again "Are you all right? You were completely lost in thought." _Look at her, the dreamer is her own world again, completely lost_ , she heard the echo of a bygone voice.  
_She didn’t get any of this_ , again, another voice came.  
_Sleepyhead, dreamer!_  
_Hey slow-poke, did you sleep well? Have a good time in slumberland?_  
Her classmates burst into laughter and intentionally bumped into her. Melody stumbled against a table and dropped the books she was carrying. The others laughed even more and finally left her alone. Melody sniffled and tried very hard to hold back her tears. Quickly she collected her books and made her way home – alone.

"Melody?" Eli‘s voice interrupted her recollections. Quickly she banished the unpleasant memories of her childhood and answered quietly "I’m okay, just a memory." Eli looked at her worriedly and to distract him from herself she looked around once again and asked, (when she couldn’t see Rush anywhere), "Where’s Dr. Rush?" "Still working" Eli said and shrug his shoulders. "Oh, shouldn’t he better finish for today?" "Don’t worry about him, he’s always working, especially if he has found a new riddle."  
Melody hesitated and looked once more for the scientist, then walked away with Eli.  
They walked quietly for some minutes until Eli broke the silence asking "Are you still angry with me because I summoned you here?"  
Melody sighed faintly. "No. You meant well." Eli felt a bit better. When he had been alone with her, her company had helped to distract himself from his Rush problem and if he was honest, he found he liked her very much. A split second later he was reminded of Chloe and the conversation he had overheard. His expression became gloomy again and he stopped chattering, instead dwelling on his own thoughts. 

A few minutes later the group arrived back at the camp. The construction battalion had done a good job. They had built an almost comfortable shelter into which Eli and the others moved. Only Melody stood motionless, undecided what she should do. Eli pointed towards two beds which were close together. "Let’s take these two."  
"I don’t know" she said, still uncertain. "Actually, I’d prefer to go back to Destiny."  
"You’re always there" Eli said disappointed. "Who knows when you will have another chance to visit a planet. Stay here. Please?" Melody didn’t have the heart to let Eli down, whose mind seemed battered. At least this was what she had noticed. That, and it must have something to do with Dr. Rush, if she read their glances correctly.  
"Very well, but only for one night" she said and sat down on a blanket. Eli smiled. "I’ll see, if there’s something left of supper" he said much more enthusiasticly and strolled over to the bonfire where a pot hung and something that smelled wonderful sizzled on a spit. All of the other holidaymakers had gathered around and the atmosphere was quite merry. Eli was happy to find there was plenty of food left. There was meat on the spit from some type of animal and a kind of veggie bulb. Eli tasted carefully a bit of both and was surprised. He had truly eaten worse. This deserved the label ’feast’. Quickly he filled two plates to the brim and (carefully balancing them) returned to Melody. "Here, it really does taste very good" he said and handed over a plate. br> "Thanks" she said, but gave the meal only a short look and put it aside. Instead she stared at her laptop, where pictures of the pylon were displayed.  
"You should eat while it’s still hot" Eli said and sat down in the sand facing her. He began to eat and had to remind himself to slow down so he wouldn’t gobble. He had been really hungry. Melody seemed not to notice anything around her. She looked the same way as when he had found her sitting in the grass and staring at the pylon. Eli realized that this appeared to happen to her frequently. Was that the reason she was so unapproachable? While he was eating his meal he studied her. She was still sitting motionless when he finished, so he decided to fetch another helping.  
When he had finished his second plate and Melody still hadn’t moved, it started to feel a little creepy. "Melody?" he asked cautiously and looked at her.  
"What is it?" she asked and he felt a bit stupid. Obviously she had been more aware of her enviornment than he had thought. Quickly he pointed to the food in front of her which she had ignored for so long and said "It‘s certainly cooled down by now. Shall I fetch another serving for you?" Hastily she took the plate and began eating. In between bites she said "No, it’s okay. I’m used to eating everything cold." While she was chewing, she was looked constantly at her laptop and after only a few bites she put the plate aside.  
"Ehm, are you finished already?" Eli asked her. "Thanks, that was delicious" she said tersely and moved her head nearer to the display to see better.  
"Did you find something?" Eli asked curiously and sat down beside her to look at the monitor as well.  
Melody pointed with her finger directly at a cluster of symbols and said "I’m not entirely sure, but these here remind me of the beginning of the Pachelbel in D major…" She started to move her lips noiselessly, nodding softly with her head and her hand looked like it was swirling to a music which could only she hear. Eli understood nothing at all. "The beginning of what? What are you talking about?" he asked and Melody explained briefly, without taking her eyes off the symbols "It a very famous composition by Johann Pachelbel, a German composer who lived during the Baroque period. That’s why it’s called ’Pachelbel canon’."  
"You see music in the symbols?" Eli burst out in a such doubtful voice that Melody looked at him sharply. Her expression became sad when she realized that Eli looked at her in the exact same way her classmates had; the ones who thought of her as crazy.  
She lowered her head and said very softly "Yes. Math is music and music is math... at least for me."  
Eli just looked at her completely stunned and hadn’t the slightest idea what to say. He had never thought of such a possibility. Melody, on the other hand, knew exactly what she needed to do in such a situation – go away; like she always did to escape the mocking. She closed her laptop, rose and said "Just forget it. It was stupid idea." Then she walked into the night, which was settling quite faster than on earth, heading to the pylon and soon vanishing into the dark. She was just out of Eli‘s sight when his brain came back online and without further ado, went after her.  
"Melody!" he called and tried to catch up with her. It took him only a few seconds until he recognized her silhouette. "Wait, stop running away!" he tried again. Quickly he caught up to her and walked by her side. "Hey, what did I do? I was just… surprised, that’s all. It’s a great theory, we should tell Rush at once," he made another try.  
Suddenly Melody stopped dead and gave him a furious look. "You’re also thinking I’m completely crazy, aren’t you!?! I can see it in your eyes, Eli. You know what? It was a mistake coming here. I see more in numbers than just mathematical codes. That’s why I’m always alone, because no one understands."  
She fell silent, looking at him teary-eyed for a moment and then walked on. Eli stood there dumbfounded, horrified by what she had revealed to him. Some pieces of the puzzle fell in their place, but he didn‘t thinking of her as crazy! Again he caught up to her and stood in her path.  
"I don’t think you’re crazy" he said calmly. "I was just surprised; I had never thought about such a possibility. For me numbers, codes and equations are this, what I understand and can handle. Although I’m hopeless on a personal level..." he explained, hoping he would not make the same mistake like with Rush and tell her everything he was feeling. He simply couldn’t let her go away without cleaning up the mess he had made.  
"Look, I know we have just actually met, but… I thought, maybe, we could… be friends."  
Now it was her turn to look surprised and also a bit sympathetic. She didn’t know what to say. She had never met someone like Eli; someone who really seemed to want to get to know her and didn’t think her crazy. _Or maybe not yet_ , the thought sneaked into her head. _It’ll happen again; I’ll forget everything around me and then it will happen...it always happens._  
She realized that she had to say something to Eli. She didn’t want to hurt him but for both their sakes, well, it would be better if they kept their distance. She felt a lump in her throat and before the tears could come to her eyes she quickly said, "You deserve true friends, Eli. I’m not good with other people. I’m sorry." She looked at him quite guiltily, touching his hand briefly and continued on.  
Eli closed his eyes for a moment.  
_Great. It seems I truly am disgusting._ He couldn’t deny the bitter thoughts and right now he wished once more that he was at home with his mom and that he never had even heard of the damn computer game that had brought him here. No, that was ungrateful. Who else could say they had had the opportunity to explore strange, new worlds and galaxies...even if it was involuntary. He wouldn’t change his life on the ship. He took a deep breath and followed Melody, determined not to give up so easily on her. She seemed to have a sad background if she isolated herself as much as she did. Eli was suddenly more determined than ever to show her that she was well worthy of having friends.  
In the distance he saw a light and headed towards it. It had to be Dr. Rush with his flashlight and when Eli arrived, his assumption was confirmed.  
"Eli?" the scientist asked surprised, when he recognized the math genius. "What are you doing here?"  
"I wanted to help Melody check on a theory" he explained and looked around, but she was nowhere in sight. "Where is she?" he asked Rush.  
He shrugged his shoulders. "I didn’t see aynone except for you, Eli."  
The young man didn’t think twice. "Melody?" he called and waited for an answer. Rush gave him a meaningful look, which Eli ignored. "Melody!" he shouted.  
"Eli, please" Rush said sharply. "Keep your voice down. Others have actual work to do."  
"Sorry, Doc, but she has to be here. Melody!" he tried again and this time, he got an answer.  
"You should not disturb Dr. Rush, Eli" she said and appeared from behind the pylon. Apparently she had quietly started working on the other side, not bothering to catch Rush‘s attention.  
"Sorry, but I thought you were missing. Which wouldn’t have been that hard in the darkness" Eli said, glad she was here.  
"I’m going back to work" she said and disappeared again around the other side. Eli sighed. Since he was here, he might as well take a look to the pylon and the symbols. In doing so he tried to see what Melody had been seeing. He quickly gave up though as he had no knowledge of music or notes.


	6. Deathly defense

An hour passed by and Eli yawned several times, growing increasingly tired. Occasionally, he peeked around the corners to his left and right to see what Melody and Rush were doing; both were still completely lost in their work. He decided he was done for today and went over to Rush to say good night. Just as he turned the corner, some of the symbols on the wall suddenly started to glow and both Rush and he froze in place. Then the shimmer transfered over to the men and the next thing Eli realized was the fact that he wasn’t where he had been a second ago. Instead of the glowing symbols on the stone wall, he saw Rush and Melody standing in front of him (looking probably as shocked as he did) and then his eyes found a panel whose glowing was just fading away again.  
"It seems that some one of us has just figured out how to get into the obelisk" Rush drily stated, summing up the obvious. The scientist gave Eli as well as Melody a hard look.  
"I didn’t do anything" Eli said, lifting his hands to gesture he was completely innocent.  
"Miss Hansen?" Rush addressed the young woman. She was staring at him completely confused, still holding her laptop under her arm. She replied, "I have only studied the symbols here, on the display...nothing more." Quickly she turned the laptop around so Rush could see what she saw on the screen and he narrowed his eyes slightly.  
"Did you touch any of the symbols on the wall?" he asked on.  
"No, I didn’t" she replied at once. "I was just sitting there, looking at the monitor, and suddenly there was a glowing and I was in here with you two."  
"Very curious" Rush said and inspected the room with his flashlight. They had to be inside the pylon. He could see the symbols just like outside and the dimensions corresponded as well. The beam hit the panel on the wall and Rush went over. Eli pulled out his flashlight and inspected the other side of the room. He found another panel there. Melody stood indecisivly in the middle and her eyes kept switching between Rush and Eli. What had just happened? How did they get in here?  
Meanwhile, Rush seemed to have found something and put out his hand as if to activate something on his panel. He had barely touched it when an electrical type discharge suddenly surged. In a moment the walls were glowing like in a lightning storm and Melody saw with horror that Rush and Eli were wrapped in sparks, briefly frozen in place, and then hurled away from the panels. Eli hit the ground and groaned, while Rush was thrown heavily against the opposite wall and dropped to the ground, where he lay lifelessly.  
"Eli! Dr. Rush!" Melody (who was unharmed) screamed in panic. Since Eli was still moving she decided to have a look at the scientist first. It took her a only few steps to reach him. She knelt down by his side and put two fingers on the side of his throat to check for a pulse. There was none. She looked quickly at his chest and realized in horror that he had stopped breathing.  
"Nicholas!" Her heart was racing and she looked at Eli, but he was out of it; he couldn’t help her.Keep calm, she told herself, _remember the resuscitation class Lt. Johansen taught_.  
She pulled Rush away from the wall so that he lay flat on his back, opened his vest and followed with her fingers along his sternum until she thought she had found the right place. Then she began trying to revive him.  
"Chest compressions, ventilate, chest compressions, ventilate" she repeated in a steady rhythm. Every fifth cycle, she checked for his pulse, but there was still nothing.  
She didn’t know how long had passed since she tried to bring the Scot back to life, but as more time passed she became more and more panicky. Small pearls of sweat appeared on her forehead and her despair was growing.  
"Nick, come on, please" she pleaded with him and continued with the chest compressions and rescue breathing. "Don’t leave us here, please!"  
As though he had heard her, Rush suddenly gasped for air and opened his eyes. Melody was so relieved that she had tears in her eyes.  
"Nicholas, thank god!" she said impulsively and put a light hand on his chest to hold him down. "No, don’t move, you were hit by an electrical discharge and you flatlined" she explained gently and Rush looked at her in disbelief. Melody removed her hand from his chest and checked his pulse once more. It was steady, but weak. She sighed in relief and Rush’s eyes met hers.  
"Thank you" he said with a low voice and closed his eyes. He felt completely exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep. Melody slipped out of her cardigan and folded it. Carefully she slid her hand under Rush‘s head, who cracked open his eyes. She lifted his head up und placed her cardigan underneath. Rush closed his eyes again. "Stay as you are, I have to check on Eli" Melody said and moved to stand up Rush‘s eyes flew open in alarm.  
"What happened to Eli?" he asked and tried once more to sit up to check on the lad himself. Melody held him back and gently pushed him back down onto her sweater.  
"I think he’s fine, he caught a little of the discharge as well, but he is conscious." This seemed to calm Rush down and he relaxed. Melody noticed something wet and sticky on her hand and when she looked closer, she saw blood.  
Hesitantly she looked over to Eli, then decided to re-check Rush again. She knelt by his side again.  
"Dr. Rush? I need to check the back of your head...are you in any pain?" she asked.  
"It’s bearable." Cautiously, she lifted his head up again and inspected it whith her flashlight. The impact on the wall had caused a gash, which was still bleeding. She thought that it probably looked worse than it actually was. Melody took her scarf off and pressed it onto his wound. She let him down again and said "You’ve suffered a nasty cut. I hope the bleeding will stop shortly. Please try to keep your head still. I’ll be right back."  
Rush nodded in reply and Melody went over to Eli, who had managed to roll over to his side. His eyes were closed, but he was moving his fingers slightly.  
"Eli?" Melody asked softly and put her fingers also on his throat to check his pulse. To her relief, it was strong and steady. Eli groaned and opened his eyes. "Did you get the number of the engine that hit me?" he tried to joke and grimaced, feeling his muscles painfully protest against his movements.  
Melody laughed lowly. "If you can make jokes again, you must be feeling better," she determined drily.  
"How is Dr. Rush?" was the next thing Eli asked. He had realized Melody had stayed some time by the man‘s side and he had also overheard what she had said.  
„He suffered a cardiac arrest but I did CPR and his pulse is back and he was talking. He seems fine for now", she informed him quickly. "What about you? Are you in any pain?"  
"Only every, single, damn muscle in my body hurts, but I’m fine" Eli answered.  
"I dare say the discharge that hit both of you was pretty powerful. You were luckier than Nicholas."  
"Seems to be a protective mechanism" Eli considered and tried to sit up, failing miserably.  
"Wait, I‘ll help you," Melody offered, squatting down behind him and grasping him underneath his arms. She pushed him into a sitting position, which caused Eli to groan from another wave of pain.  
„I’m sorry" Melody said contritely and leaned him against the back of a console.  
"It’s okay" Eli said and he looked over to Rush. "Is he really okay?" he asked.  
"Well, just like you, I’m betting every single muscle in his body is hurting plus he suffered a cut on the back of his head. Hopefully, he’ll recover. Did you have water with you by any chance, when we were … transported here?"  
"No, I’m sorry, just my flashlight."  
"That could become a problem" Melody said thougtfully. "As far as I can see, Dr. Rush didn’t bring anything useful with him either. And I just had my laptop in my hand."  
"We have to find a way to get out of here" Eli stated the obvious.  
"Yes, but for that we have to find out how we got in here" Melody said.  
"I have to see this control panel again" Eli said resolved and tried to get up.  
"Eli, don’t" Melody said. "It’s better if you get some rest until you have recovered from the discharge. You’re not in any shape to do too much. You can’t even use your fingers properly."  
The MIT dropout gave in; Melody was right.  
"Very well, but could you help me to get out of my sweatshirt? I just need something soft under my head."  
"Of course" she said and helped him. Lying down was far more pleasant for him than sitting up and it didn’t take long until Eli was asleep.  
Melody went over to Dr. Rush again. Carefully she checked his pulse, taking care not to wake him. She couldn’t check on that cut, but the scientist seemed to be doing better.  
She left both men asleep, took a flashlight, and examined the control panels as well as the symbols on the wall, being very careful not to touch any of it. After some time, she noticed above her some ventilation shafts. They wouldn’t run out of oxygen; one less concern for her. The lack of water would become a greater problem. She had to find out how they got in here so she could figure out how to get out.

About two hours later she just had finished examining two of the walls, when she heard a soft groan. At once she turned around to Rush, who was waking up.  
"Dr. Rush?" she whispered, cautious not to wake Eli. "How do you feel?"  
"I’m fine" he replied, which Melody wasn’t buying. Rush’s whole body was in pain, especially his head and he still felt weak. But such minor matters would never hold him back from doing his job. "Help me up, please" he asked the girl.  
"It would really be better if you’d lie down for a little longer. I also want to have a look at the cut on your head."  
"That won’t be necessary, I’m fine. There will be enough time for that later. Did you find anything useful in the meantime?" Rush cut her off and tried to stand up.  
Melody (who wasn’t used to talking that long or much to other people) sighed, but helped the scientist to get up. She was a bit surprised, how frail he appeared. He had to lean against a wall once he was upright. He felt dizzy and queasy, but after a few moments he seemd to be getting better. Melody stood by his side and looked at him worried. "Are you okay?" she asked.  
Rush nodded. "Yes yes, we should start working." She wasn’t very keen that Rush wanted to work; she could see how weak he really was. On the other hand, she knew they had to find a way to get out here as soon as possible.  
"Did you find something useful?" Rush repeated his earlier question while he was looking at the panel.  
"No, but Eli thinks the discharge was some kind of protection mechanism," she told him.  
Rush looked over to Eli who was still asleep and asked casually, "Is he okay?"  
"I think so, both of you just need some rest."  
"We don’t have time for that" Rush said and gave his attention to the symbols on the wall again. Melody didn’t say anything more, grabbed her laptop, and looked at the symbols too. Her eyes were drawn again to the area which reminded her of the Pachelbel canon. She almost started to hum it, but then remembered she wasn’t alone and she didn’t want to annoy Rush. She felt priviliged to have the chance to work with the Scot and was keen not to mess it up.


	7. Melody

_2 years earlier, earth…_

Melody left the main building of MIT as fast as she could and almost flew down the stairs. When her cell phone had started to vibrate during a lecture, she knew it had to be bad news. She had no friends who would call her, just her mother and her (two years) older sister had this number. Her hands were shaking when she opened the phone and read the message. It was from her mother.

_Her time is drawing near. Hurry._

That was all. Six words which made her world collapse. And she hadn't expect it; not today, not tomorrow, in one year at the earliest. Disregarding her fellow students, the professor, or anyone or anything else, she closed her laptop, stuffed it into her bag and ran off. She hurried to her sister, who would die today, and her mother, who would be a broken woman today.

When she had reached the bottom of the stairs she swore to herself...she had no car. A man was standing on the sidewalk, looking at her. Melody didn't pay him any attention and started to run past him, when he addressed her. "Miss Melody Hansen?"

Normally she would have at least asked him how he knew her name and what he wanted, but not today. "I don't have time" she said and dodged around him.

"It would be my honor to take you to your sister at the hospital" the man offered and Melody stopped. She turned around and asked "How did you know?"

The man merely pointed to the black SUV parked beside him. Behind the wheel sat another man who was wearing (which Melody just noticed) a military uniform, like the man in front of her.

"Who are you?" she added. The man showed her his badge.

"Lt. Fynn," he introduced himself. "Your sister has been working for us. If you like, we can take you to her." He made an inviting gesture towards the car.

Melody (caught by surprise) didn't hesitate any longer and got in the back seat. She just wanted to get to the hospital as fast as possible. When she was seated and buckled in, Fynn got in the front seat and the driver moved the car into traffic.

"What exactly does my sister do for you?" Melody asked after several minutes.

Lt. Fynn turned and said "If you like, Miss Hansen, you'll get to know everything. However, before I can tell you anything, you would have to first sign a non-disclosure agreement. We can talk about that later. Right now you should focus on your sister and your mother. They're going to need you." The Lt. gave her a short, compassionate, sad smile and turned back around.

Melody's mind was racing. What was happening here? What had the military to do with her sister? And why didn't she know anything about it?

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the entrance of the hospital. Lt. Fynn guided her to where her sister was, obviously he had been here before At the intensive care unit entrance, a nurse greeted them and led Melody into the room. The Lt. waited outside.

When she entered the room she had to fight back tears. Her mother looked like she had aged several years overnight as she sat hunched over beside the bed in which her elder daughter Gwendolyn lay, holding her hand.

"Melody. You're here" Gwendolyn said faintly and gave her a smile. Her mother also gave her a short look, then concentrated on her moribund child again.

"It's too soon, sis" Melody answered and hugged her sister carefully.

"I know, little one, but we knew the time would come sooner or later."

"But I need you!" Melody couldn't hold back her despair any longer and hot tears ran down her cheeks. Her big sister was her world. They had never been rivals, even when they were little children. She had always been there for her when Melody had to bear all that teasing in school. Like Melody, her sister was a math genius and could understand what she had to go through.

And now she would leave her. Forever. A year ago, Gwendolyn had suddenly felt weak and suffered a terrible headache. In the hospital, they had found a malignant, inoperable tumor in her brain. It had stopped growing at that point and the doctors said, with the right medication, she could live an almost normal life. As long as it wasn't growing. But it had started growing again and now the pressure on her brain was increasing...fatally.

"The physicians give me hours… or minutes" Gwendolyn weakly explained to her sister. "And before I die, I have to tell you something." She now looked at her mother, who gave her a questioning look.

"Mom, would you please give us a few minutes in private? This is a sister-to-sister thing, okay?"

Although both girls could see that their mother was not very happy, she nodded and left the room.

Half an hour later, Melody emerged to call her mother back inside. As she did, her eyes rested on Lt. Fynn, who was still waiting, but at a respectful distance. No surprise there; her mother mustn't have known about any of this.

"Mom?" Melody said and the elder woman wiped away her tears and followed her younger daughter back inside. Melody closed the door.

Two hours later, Lt. Fynn (waiting dutifully outside the sick room) heard a low, desperate cry. Shortly after, he saw a nurse hurrying into the room. Sadly he looked down and sighed. He was not only sorry for Gwendolyn and her family; they had also just lost an important member of the Icarus project. Now he could only hope that the younger sister was equally promising, as Gwendolyn had indicated, and that she would accept the offer to work with them.

Carefully he peered into the room, the door standing half open. Melody wasn't crying, she just sat there and looked at her sister, who serenely had slipped away. Her mother however, had obviously been given a sedative by the attending nurse.

Melody's eyes wandered to the door, meeting Lt. Fynn's and for a moment they just looked at each other. She nodded slightly and the Lt. put his card on a cabinet by the door. Then he was gone.

Melody looked at her mother again. The sedative was taking effect but her mother was so...broken. Gwendolyn had always been her pride and joy. Of course Melody was hurt that her mother didn't seem to love her like Gwendolyn, but the love and care her elder sister had shown to Melody had always compensated for that.

Right now she was asking herself if her mother would ever rally. 'Cause one thing was clear, Melody couldn't do it for her. While she was thinking these dismal thoughts, a second nurse entered the room, followed by two male nurses, one of whom was pushing a wheelchair.

"I need you to leave the room for a litle while. I promise that you can come back in a few minutes to say your farewells" the nurse said and Melody nodded. Her mother was carefully seated in the wheelchair and wheeled out. As Melody went through the door, she grabbed the card and put it in her bag without even looking at it. She knew what it said. Gwendolyn had told her everything about Icarus, although she couldn't really believe it. But Lt. Fynn hadn't left an impression of being a practical joker.

 _Maybe it's best I continue Gwendolyn's work and be away from mother, I'd always remind her of who she lost_ , she thought.

Two weeks later she packed up her things. She had given her mother, who was lying in a sanatorium unresponsive, a last kiss on her forehead and went away with Lt. Fynn.

_Present, Obelisk_

"Miss Hansen?" Rush's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes?" she asked a bit distracted, trying to remember what she had been doing before she had lost herself in memories.

Rush gave her a sharp look and seemed to reconsider what he been about to say. But then he looked away and said "You should keep working. We don't have much time left to get out of here."

Melody swallowed. It wasn't necessary for Rush to explain why time was running out. If they couldn't get help from outside, they really were on their own. And Melody seriously doubted anyone could help them from the outside. "I'm sorry, Dr. Rush" she apologized and focused on the code in front of her again.

A groaning behind her made her turn around. Eli opened his eyes and Melody was by his side at once.

"Eli? Are you feeling better?" she asked. Eli tried to move. He still felt some pain, but it had gotten better. "Better than before. What did I miss?" he asked and with Melody's help came to his feet.

"Nothing. We're not a bit further along than we were at the beginning," Rush gave him a quick summary. Suddenly he paused, then looked at Eli and Melody and asked "Eli, when you and Miss Hansen returned to the obelisk, you said something about checking a theory."

"Melody might have found something", Eli replied slowly with an apologetic look at the girl. Rush's eyes looked daggers at her and he asked impatienly "Which theory is that?"

Melody felt as anxious as ever. Telling her theory to Eli was one thing, but Dr. Rush…he never would believe such nonsense.

"It was just a stupid idea", she tried to take his mind off it.

"WeIl that depends on what you were thinking" Rush retorted. " Why don't you just share it with us and let us decide if it is really as much nonsene as you think." He gazed at her and added gently "We need a way out. As long as you haven't had the idea of busting through the walls with a sledgehammer, I'm open to suggestions."

Melody still hesitated, then she softly sighed, grabbed her laptop and walked over to a particular point on the wall. Dr. Rush and Eli followed her.

"This," she pointed to some symbols, "was also on the outside." She showed them an image on her laptop. "The longer I studied the symbols, I…" she halted again. In the presence of Dr. Rush, she was even more afraid of relating what she had seen.

Eli stepped in when he noticed Rush getting more and more impatient.

"Bach's cantata" he said, which resulted in Rush and Melody staring at him in confusion.

"I beg your pardon?" Rush asked and frowned.

Melody tried to make the best of it. "What he meant to say is Canon in D major by Pachelbel."

"I was close…" Eli murmured, shutting up. Melody, feeling Rush needed more explanation before he passed verdict on her sanity, added "These particular symbols match in order and type exactly the beginning of the canon. I… don't just see equations, numbers and sums; sometimes everything transforms into music."

With cheeks reddened in embarrasment, she had barely whispered the last part of her statement; her eyes fixed on the ground. At last, her secret had been revealed to Dr. Rush.

 _He'll say it too, any moment, you're crazy_ , she thought and waited for the withering words. When he didn't say anything after a few moments, she dared to give the scientist a shy look and realized in surprise he was no longer looking at her but at the symbols.

"Unusual approach, but I see what you mean. You're right. Question is, if you're on the right track."

Melody mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. Understanding was the last thing she expected.

"Miss Hansen," Rush addressed her again "Please try to think very carefully what you were doing when the symbols started to glow." He had his arms folded in front of his chest, waiting patiently.

"You… you don't think I'm crazy?" she asked doubtfully.

"Why should I?" he asked back in surprise.

"Because…" she struggled for words, but nothing came. Instead she closed her eyes and tried to remember every single detail about what she had done.

"I was staring at the image and saw the notes in it" she said. She concentrated and suddenly started to hum the sequence of notes of the canon without even realizing it. The symbols on the wall suddenly started to glow softly and Rush's eyes widened.

"What the…" Eli exclaimed, interrupting the moment. Melody opened her eyes again and saw the light fading.

"What did I do?" she asked confused and Rush eyed her speculatively. He was looking at her curiously.

"Didn't you notice? You were humming the first part of the canon" Rush explained.

"I was humming?" she asked confused and Rush and Eli looked at each other.

"You didn't realize it, did you?" Eli asked.

Melody shook her head. "No, actually, I was just trying to remember what I had done. Nothing more."

"What ever it was, Rush interrupted, "You do seem to be capable, Miss Hansen, of controlling the obelisk. Obviously it's reacting to sounds. I dare say you're humming or singing occasionally without realizing it was probably how the transporter was activated."

Melody didn't know what to answer, she was shocked. _Would it never stop?_ , she thought desperately. _I'm a freak! I only cause trouble._

"Miss Hansen?" Rush started to worry about the girl. She looked as if he had told her Destiny had left them here. Melody gulped and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention" she said apologizing.

"You shouldn't worry about it. On the contrary, you broke the code and activated the obeslik. That's what I wanted." The corner of Rush's mouth showed a satified smile and Melody was even more confused than before. This was the second time Dr. Rush appreciated something Melody saw for herself as a bad thing. And since she knew it wasn't his habit to lie to someone in such matters, she believed him. New confidence flooded through her and she said "In that case I'd better find out which harmony is the right one to get us out of hear, hadn't I?"

Rush nodded. "That's what I want to hear. Let's get started."

While Melody was trying to figure out how to translate the symbols into harmonies and Rush seemed to know as well what to do, Eli felt once more obsolete. In this case, he had absolutely no idea how he could be helpful. So he sat down on the ground, leant his back against the wall and watched them both work. It took only a few minutes until Melody said to Dr. Rush "I think I got it." She showed him the laptop, which was now showing sheet music. Rush studied it quickly and nodded. "Let's try it."

Melody clicked start and the computer played, but nothing happened. There was no glowing, everything stayed dark.

"I don't understand" Melody murmured and started the harmony from the beginning. Dr. Rush stepped to her side and his eyes wandered between the notes and the walls, but still nothing happened.

"Did you do everything exactly like the first time?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure" Melody replied.

"No, you didn't" Elis voice came from behind her. Rush and Melody turned to look at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Maybe it's the computer. I mean... when you're singing, it's different… it doesn't sound so…" Eli tried to find the right words, "cold and perfect like the computer. In your voice lies warmth and passion." Eli lifted his hand slightly defeated and added, when Melody and Rush stared at him in surprise, "Sorry, I simply should learn to shut up." He turned away but his hand was held in place. He looked down and saw Melodys hand holding his. When he looked up, he saw such a lovely smile that he felt his heart grow warmer.

"No Eli, you shouldn't. In fact, that was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. And for that I'm very grateful." Eli's eyes slid briefly over to Rush's, but his facial expression hadn't changed. He looked away again. Melody noticed it, but said nothing. She let go of his hand again and said "Maybe that's it."

Then she began to sing the melody and this time, something happened. The symbols started to glow again, but instead of activating a transport device, the energy was focused in a large beam targeting Melody's chest. The girl stopped singing, too shocked to react and the discharge hit her directly in the chest. She screamed in shock realizing as she flew backwards that her head was starting to pound something awful. Everything started to blur and the last thing she saw was Eli's face growing darker and darker.

"Melody!" Eli had screamed in horror when she was hit by the discharge. At once, both men were by her side. Eli placed his hand carefully under her head watching her eyes close. Rush checked for a pulse and said relieved "She's just unconscious. The cardigan, Eli." Rush gestured with his head behind him and Eli saw Melody's cardigan still laying at the spot where she had saved Rush's life. The blood had dried in the meantime and he turned the cardigan inside out before putting it under her head. Then he grabbed his own jacket and covered her with it.

"What happened?" Eli asked. Rush shrugged his shoulders. "Seems, she hit a wrong note."

Eli snapped. Was he now blaming Melody? "She was just thrown against a wall because once again you care more about some damn alien technology than anything or anyone else. You really don't give a shit about the people around you, do you?"

Rush gazed at him completely perplexed and opened his mouth to reply but Eli cut him off before he could say a word. "Just forget it. The only thing you care about is Destiny and old, ancient secrets."

He turned his back on Rush and looked after the girl again.

The Scot stood up and continued working, as if nothing had happened. In fact, he had been deeply hurt by Eli's words. Of course it mattered to him what had happened to Miss Hansen, but he couldn't do much for her right now. She would wake up soon and until then he had to find out what had gone wrong, so they could try again.


	8. The Artificial Intelligence

_2 years earlier, Stargate Command…_

When she entered the gate room for the first time, Melody stared in shocked disbelief at the Stargate. Just the sight of it dazzled her and Lt. Fynn, who had accompanied her, couldn’t hold back his grin.

"Yeah, everyone reacts like that the first time," he said and gently taking her by the arm, moved them forward. "This is so amazing!" she burst out. "And my sister worked here?"

"Not exactly. As you know, she was away for an educational trip for several weeks, and...well, strictly speaking, she wasn’t on this planet. She worked at our base on the planet Icarus, 21 lightyears away from earth."

"And that is my destination too?"

"Exactly Miss Hansen. Now if you will please follow me." The Lt. led her to a room with a large meeting table and an even larger plasma monitor. "Over the next few hours, you’ll receive your orientation. When you’ve finished, you’ll be transferred to the Hammond which leaves for Icarus soon."

Melody took a seat and spent the next several hours watching the introduction video by Dr. Jackson about the Stargate. Afterwards, Lt. Fynn returned for her and soon Melody was standing on the observation deck of the Hammond, staring down at the earth rotating slowly in space.

Once they finally reached the Icarus planet, Lt. Fynn said his good-byes, wished her luck, and thanked her once again for continuing her sister‘s work. Melody admittedly felt a bit uneasy, unsure if she could meet the requirements of this job. Additionally, she still hadn’t met the chief scientist of the expedition, one Dr. Nicholas Rush. With what she had heard about him from her time spent on board the Hammond, she wasn’t feeling very confident. He seemed to be a bit of a tyrant; a man who thought that anyone who wasn’t as brilliant as he was must surely be incompetent.

To her profound relief, she didn’t meet him the first day. She took her sister‘s quarters and started immediately to find out what Gwendolyn‘s job here had been. On her second day, she had her first, albeit brief, encounter with the aforementioned Dr. Rush, during which he was oblivious to her presence. She had to simulate a calculation and for that she had to use a different terminal in the same room as the scientist. He was standing, staring in front of a large white board, which was crammed with formulas.

At first she considered introducing herself, but dismissed the idea immediately as Dr. Rush looked like he would be very exasperated about the slightest disruption. So she tried to become invisible; looking for a terminal preferably hidden in a corner of the room. As soon as her simulation was completed, she disappeared, leaving the scientist undisturbed. She actually prefered to work alone in her quarters, anyway. It almost seemed as if Gwendolyn was still here; helping her with her work. 

Some time later she realized what the hour was and was a bit shocked to find that it was well after midnight and she had missed supper. She found she was quite hungry and decided to have a look in the mess which lay in darkness. In the fridge, she eventually found a forgotten sandwich. She also grabbed a bottle of water and slipped over to a small table in a completely dark corner. She needed to clear her mind for a little while and this place seemed pre-destined. She had barely taken a bite out of her sandwich when the door opened and two shadows stopped in the entrance.

"If you have no idea how to do your job properly, you should head back to earth at once and stop annoying me with your incompetence" she heard Dr. Rush‘s voice, which sounded quite upset.

"You know what? You’re right. I’m so done with you taking your moods out on me on a daily basis" another voice whined; a voice that Melody had never heard before. For a moment, there was silence until the unknown man continued in a calmer voice "Your wife would never have wanted you to become the man you are now."

"Leave" Rush said, and Melody could hear his voice trembling. "Now." The other shadow disappeared and Rush stayed there in the door until the steps had faded away. Melody almost dared not to breathe, this exchange was definitely not meant to to be overheard. She stayed frozen and waiting for Rush to go away as well. To her disappointment, he simply stood there. A few seconds later she could hear a sob and watched as the scientist slid slowly to the floor. He’s crying, she realized and then she knew what had happened. He has lost his wife.

This realization almost broke her heart. Her own pain over the loss of her beloved sister came rushing back to her and she felt her eyes welling up with tears, but she knew mustn’t reveal that she was hiding here in the dark. With all her strength she tried to stay in control of her emotions and prayed the Dr Rush would not see her.

He sat there for some minutes. Then he swiped his hand over his eyes and rose unsteadily to his feet. He staggered a bit while walking and she could sense his desolation. His wife had obviously been his world, like her sister was for her. Rush walked away and Melody allowed her tears to finally flow. She wasn’t hungry anymore and when she had calmed down, she crept back to her quarters. No matter how Dr. Rush behaved, she knew and understood why.

_Present, Camp, alien planet…_

"Dr. Rush, please come in" Dr. Park tried to reach the scientist for the third time, but she still didn’t get an answer. "He has to be here, he’s not on Destiny" Volker said, having just spoken to Col. Young.

"Eli isn’t there either, he’s certainly with Rush. Eli," Park tried to contact Eli, but the young man wasn’t responding either.

"I’m used to it; Rush often turns off his radio, but Eli?"

"You’re right, that’s not like him. Whereas Rush had disappeared recently…" Dale pondered.

"I have a bad feeling something‘s not right. We should check at the artifact," Lisa suggested and together with the rest of Rush‘s team, and the addition of two soldiers, they headed off. When they arrrived there 30 minutes later, they instantly saw some of the missing’s belongings lying on the ground. 

"I found Dr. Rush’s radio and notepad" Volker called and waved the permanently thinning pad around, to show where he found it. "I‘ve got Eli’s radio and bottle of water," Lt. James said, standing on the other side. "So where are they?" Dr. Park asked and looked around. The male soldier funneled his hands to his mouth and shouted "Dr. Rush! Mr. Wallace!" They listened for a response in vain "We need to report this to Colonel Young" James said eventually. The others nodded and after James had spoken to Young, they started to search the area for the missing scientists.

Barely 5 meters from where the searchers stood, Melody slowly woke up inside the obelisk. "Melody? How are you feeling?" Eli asked, sitting by her side and looking relieved. "Like I have been standing within the largest church clock of the world which just tolled noon" she said drily.

Eli smiled. "Could have been one of mine" he said. "Can you sit up?"  
"I think so" she answered and with a little help from Eli she was soon leaning against the wall.

"What happened?" she asked and kneaded her forehead. She felt like her head could explode at any moment. "Dr. Rush thinks you sang the wrong notes and, because of that, you were hit by the discharge." he explained. Melody closed her eyes in order to think better. It was extremely difficult for her to concentrate with what had happened and all, but she finally managed to remember the sequence of notes and block out the pain a little.

Dr. Rush came over and crouched down in front of her. "Can you sing the melody once more? But this time completely?" he asked. Eli clenched his fist without realizing it and hissed "She just came to, at least give her some time to recover."

"It’s okay, Eli, I’m fine" Melody intervening quickly and her eyes wandered first to Dr. Rush, then to Eli.  
Interpreting Eli’s thoughts were simple, his face expressed everything very clearly – he was hurt and angry with the scientist, but not because of his apparent disinterest in her, but because of something else. In Rush‘s eyes she could read that he was attempting to steel himself against Eli‘s resentment. Unfortunately as he did so, he chose the most insensitive behavior he could possibly display to block out both his and Eli‘s emotions.  
Melody understood him, she sometimes felt the same way. Although it had been a long time, the loss of her beloved sister still caused her pain. And this feeling had to be even more intense in Nicholas. Melody resisted the the urge to hug him; both shared the same pain and right now she desperately wished to have someone at her side who understood what she had been through. But this was just wishful thinking and she quickly tried to concentrate on what Dr. Rush had said moments ago.

"Finish it? But, the energy discharge…" a new wave of pain flooded through her head and she screwed up her face. "You didn’t sing the whole part, you broke off. But I think the obelisk would just have mirrored you if you had finished the activating sequence." Melody looked at him doubfully. The pain in her head nearly drove her over the edge.

"You mean… I have to connect to the artifact first? Like a neural interface?" Rush nodded. "No, that’s too risky for her" Eli insisted.

"Do you have a better idea on how to get out of here, Eli? Time is running out," Rush said brusquely and Eli quieted. "I’ll give it a try" Melody said and got to her feet slowly, the change in position making her head swim. She had to support herself against the wall and screw up her eyes.

"Melody" Eli said hesitantly "You can‘t know what will happen to you. We‘ll find another way."

"No, Dr. Rush is right. We don’t have any more time. I have to try."

She tried to ignore her pounding head, walked into the middle of the room and began again. This time she went on singing when the energy targeted her and she found herself cacooned in it. Her perception changed. She saw herself standing in the middle of the room, enveloped in light and beside her, at a safe distance, Rush and Eli, staring at her. She felt the obelisk melding with her being; sweet music and pictures washed over her. Now she understood everything.

Thousands of years ago, an alien civilization had built the artifact. The stones they used originated from a giant meteorite, which had impacted millions of years ago on this planet. Some of the crystalized fragments were similar to a life form. When they were formed into this obelisk, the crystals and technology, melded with each other over the eons and became an autonomous, new life form, an artificial intelligence. The local inhabitants discovered what had happened and choose one of their own to interact and communicate with the life form. The procedure was the same as was happening to her now; the A.I. merging with a host to communicate.

For centuries it was a peaceful life. Then one day, the planet was attacked. The last inhabitants escaped through the stargate and never came back. Ever since then, the A.I. had been alone and lonely. When it had heard Melody singing yesterday, it woke up from it‘s long dormant phase and activated the transporter in order to establish a connection with the girl. It didn’t want to be alone anymore. Like the girl, it understood music as a complex pattern of maths and adored it.

"You don’t have to be alone" Melody told the lifeform in her mind. "I am not alone anymore" she heard in answer "You are here now."  
"But I can’t stay, I have to go back to Destiny." "You are lonely there, too, I can see it. Stay, then we have each other."

Rush and Eli, who stood watching in fascination (well, at least Rush was) what happened to Melody , couldn’t hear any of this exchange of thoughts. Meanwhile, the girl had closed her eyes and stood there seemingly frozen, still covered in energy. "I don’t like this" Eli said, obviously nervous. "Be patient, this may take a while" Rush answered. "How can you possibly know what is happening to her right now?" the young man snarled back.

Rush sighed, but didn’t answer. A discussion was superfluous and also too late. The scientist was sure he was right. Of course he hoped that Miss Hansen wouldn’t get hurt, but what was really happening to her, he only could guess.

"I really can’t stay here alone. I’d go mad," Melody explained, becoming more anxious. She looked at the scene beneath her. Eli seemed to be getting more nervous, while Dr. Rush patiently stood waiting.  
"You see the young man? He’s worried about me and wants me to come back" she stated. At least she had the feeling that Eli really cared for her. Just at that moment, Eli seemed as if he couldn’t stand it any longer and stretched out his arm toward Melody. Both Dr. Rush as well Melody shouted "Eli, don’t!" but it was only Rush’s voice to be heard. The warning was too late. Eli had barely touched her when he was hit by another discharge and flew back across the room. Rush went over to him at once and reached to check for his pulse, but he suddenly hesitated and looked at Melody. Despite the fact she could see most everything from above, she couldn’t see what had happened to Eli as Rush was shielding him from her view. Then he stood up and Melody could see what had happened. She gazed down in horror at Eli’s badly burned form, the left side of his face, as well as his left arm and the whole left side of his body. And now she knew why Rush was hesitating. To her relief she could see the Eli was still breathing, but he needed help at once.

"Miss Hansen" Rush addressed her body distraught. "If can take us out here, now would be a good time." It wasn’t necessary to say more.

"Help me, please" she emplored the A.I., adding "You can use humanoid bodies as hosts, I have seen it. You can have mine and I’ll take you with me to Destiny, but PLEASE help me now. Eli is going to die if he stays inside here any longer." She sounded so desperate that the A.I. felt sympathy for her. Although she was used to the obelisk, Melody was right. She could switch into another host.

"You’ll always hear me in your head, I can’t control it" it warned her. "I understand. Please, hurry now" Melody replied. "You have to open up your mind for me, we have to become one" the A.I. said. Melody tried to stop thinking about Eli, Rush or anything else but focusing on the one thing; welcoming the foreign intelligence. For a moment it felt to her that she was everywhere and could access any control.

"I’ll transport them out now" she heard the A.I. in her head and sensed that Rush and Eli were gone.  
"This construction will be destroyed, if I leave it" the A.I. warned her again. "Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you" Melody said and suddenly she stood outside the chamber too. The sudden brightness caused an ache in her eyes and she screwed them up and squinted in the light. Slowly she could see what was happening. She was almost 20 meters away from the artifact. In the distance to her left she saw Dr. Rush and others standing around something. Eli, she knew. She wanted to run over, but something held her back.

 _No, stay here, they will take care of him_ , she heard the voice of the A.I. in her head. A new noise made everyone look back at the obelisk. First it was a crunching noise, that became a rumble and finally grew into a very loud thunder. Under the startled eyes of everyone, the obelisk collapsed and covered everything in a thick dust cloud.

 _Now there’s no return_ , the A.I. said sadly. Melody, who had covered her face with her hands to shield her from the dust, coughed and tried simultaneously to send calming thoughts towards the A.I. She had promised to care for it and she would stand by her word. She felt gratitude and when the dust slowly cleared away, she looked for Eli.

A surprising sight greeted her. Dr. Rush was lying half across Eli, covering his face with his hands and had protected him as best he could from the dust. In the distance, she saw more people hurrying towards them. The woman with the large backpack was clearly Lt. Johansen and Melody felt relieved. Eli was getting help.

She looked back at the crowd and someone helped Rush get back to his feet. He stepped back when TJ arrived and looked around. His eyes settled on Melody, who was still standing where the A.I. had teleported her and she looked at him.  
_No, don’t tell him_ , she heard the A.I.  
_Why not?_ she thought back.  
_He… probably would think of you as a threat. Don’t tell anyone about us.  
_

Very well.

Rush came towards her. "Miss Hansen… I want to know exactly what happened in there" he demanded.  
_Don’t tell him anything about me, not even that I exist_ , the A.I. warned her again.

"Could we please discuss this later? How is Eli?" she asked instead, dodging his eyes. "He’s taken care of. Why did the pylon collapsed? What did you find out?" he pressed on and looked at her relentlessly. She hesitated for a moment and thought how she could best describe what had happend without mention the A.I.

"Dr. Rush! Miss Hansen!" The call came from the medic and both turned toward her. "I’d like to see both of you on the ship at once, follow me!" she called over. Eli had already been taken away on the kino sled and Melody hurried to obey TJ’s order. 

Rush seemed to be dissatisfied, but he knew he would get his answers eventually. Nevertheless, he had no intention to leave this place and called back, "I have to examine the remains of the obelisk, I’ll catch up later."

"Negative. You have a laceration on your head. If you don’t come with me voluntary, I’ll put you in the custody of two Marines and have you escorted back to the ship." TJ’s expression brooked no opposition and Melody was glad that Rush followed her instructions, albeit under protest. Additionally, she thought it wise to inform TJ about injuries both men had suffered inside the obelisk.

"You saved his life" Tamara said, when she told her about Rush‘s asystole. Melody made a modest gesture with her hand. "Only, because you trained us so well for such situations" she replied.

"Are you okay?" TJ asked. "Yes, I was the only one who wasn’t injured" she lied. After all, she was hosting an alien presence in her mind and was still suffering a terrible headache. "How is Eli?" Melody asked again.

TJ’s expression became grave, "He‘s alive, but he has suffered some very severe burns. I’m afraid I can’t do much for him. On Earth, he would probably have skin grafts and until his skin was healed, seriously sterile protection, but… we don’t have anything like that on Destiny, neither for the one nor the other."

Melody said nothing, which TJ interpreted as dismay. In fact, Melody was talking to the A.I.  
_Can’t you do anything for him?_  
_Nothing, I’m aware of._  
_We have some ancient devices on Destiny. Could you figure out if there’s one which could help him? In a short time we can access the whole ship and it’s systems._  
_I can try, but for that I need your help._  
_Whatever is necessary, just help Eli._  


"Miss Hansen" TJ addressed her for the second time and Melody started. "I’m sorry, I...my mind was wandering" she explained.

"Eli will have some scars, but he’ll hopefully survive. That’s the main thing" TJ said, wanting to ease her mind. "Of course" Melody said, lost in thought and made an effort not to grab her head when a fresh wave of pain raced through her brain.

Back on Destiny, TJ led all of her patients directly to the infirmary. Eli was already lying on a bed and Dr. Rush and Melody still waited in the entryway. Only now could they see the extent of the burns and Melody covered her mouth with her hand, biting back a gasp in shock. She was just glad that Eli was unconscious.

"Dr. Rush" the scientist heard Tamara‘s voice from in the back "Please make yourself comfortable on a cot, I’ll be right there." Melody saw his cheek muscles twitch, but he obeyed and took the cot beside Eli. TJ re-appeared carrying numerous cloths in her arms, which emitted an acrid smell. She spread them over Eli‘s many burns.

"Can I help?" Melody offered. "I really could use boiled water, about 2 quarts. That would be very helpful."  
"On my way" she said and headed towards the mess.

After TJ had covered Eli‘s burns with the cloths, she put him on an IV drip and then turned to Dr. Rush. "I heard you also had an encounter with the foreign energy and suffered an asystole?" she asked, taking his pulse.

"I’m fine, thank you." he said snappishly. He didn’t want to remain in the infirmary. The three weeks he had had to stay here recently had been more than enough. "Your pulse could be better" the medic commented and fetched a blood pressure cuff. The result wasn’t much better. "Your blood pressure is too low. I’m keeping you here for a while for observation." She ignored Rush‘s foul look and checked on his head wound. "Good, it’s not that deep. I will disinfect it; then you can rest."

"I don’t need to rest, I need to talk to Miss Hansen" Rush explained furiously and went to stand up but TJ pushed him back down onto the cot.

"You NEED to stay here and you will not leave until I say so." she replied firmly and gave Rush a look that stopped him in his tracks. He sighed and capitulated. "Fine...then get Miss Hansen to the infirmary" he said.

"That can wait. You could need some sleep." Rush curled his lips and TJ smiled. "If you’re good and take an little nap, maybe I could bring myself to release you a bit earlier. Obviously, provided your vital signs are better than they are now. Now be brave, this will sting a bit."

Rush didn’t feel it necessary to react to her little teasing and surpressed a groan when TJ carefully cleaned his head wound. "That’s it" she said and applied a bandage to keep the wound clean. "Headache?" she asked and Rush answered "It’s bearable."  
"So...yes." She went to the back where the medicinals were stored and returned with a thick tablet and a cup of water. "Here you go" she said and handed both to the scientist. With a sigh he took the pill, swallowing it as fast as possible. It didn’t take long until he felt a comfortable weariness. Moments later, he was asleep.

Melody had barely left the infirmary to fetch the water when she slipped into the next storage room she passed and, ducking behind some boxes, slid to the floor. Her head was throbbing, her vision had grown dim and she had some trouble walking straight.

 _Are you not feeling well?_ the A.I. asked, worried.  
"I’m fine, just a headache" she answerd quietly.  
_Can’t this woman who is treating your friend do anything for you?_  
"I don’t think so, and it would be too dangerous; someone could learn that you exist."  
_Maybe I should…_ , the A.I. began, but Melody got back to her feet. "I’ll get used to it. My head has endured more than this little bump."

The A.I. didn’t respond, but nevertheless Melody could feel it‘s discomfort. "I have to fetch water" she said and when she felt sure she could walk normally, she continued on her way.  
It took nearly half an hour before she returned to TJ carrying a large jug. "Here’s the water. I’m sorry it took that long."  
"Thank you, Miss Hansen."

"So… what’s the status?" Melody asked eventually. TJ sighed. "His burns are more severe than I originally thought. I’m afraid, he’ll likely have some deformity, but I feel he will survive if there are no complications."

Sadly the girl looked down and couldn’t help but feeling responsible for Eli‘s injuries. If he hadn’t been worried about her he probably never would have touched her… She gasped once, when what seemed like a giant ice pick hammered into her head and simultaneously she heard the A.I..

 _It wasn’t your fault_ , it said firmly. Melody was more concerned that TJ might have noticed something amiss, but the young medic was bent over Eli and couldn’t see Melody behind her.  
_What do I have to do so that you can access the devices?_ , Melody thought.  
_It shouldn’t be that difficult. As soon as you touch any console on the ship which is connected to the central data storage, I should be able to get access to everything. But to prevent my getting lost in the ship‘s systems, I have to stay in contact with you and that could become very painful_ , the A.I. warned her.  
_How painful?_ , Melody pressed .  
_You saw, what happened to your friend_ , the A.I. answered.

Melody didn’t have to think for very long before she replied, We have to try. There was no further answer, but her headache was starting to fade bit. TJ turned back to her. "Are you okay so far?" she asked, when she noticed Melody was still standing there, silently. "Yes, thank you. How is Dr. Rush?" she asked quickly. "Some rest and he’ll be fine" TJ said. "That’s good to hear. So… I better leave."

"Miss Hansen?" TJ query held her back. The young medic paused a moment before she offered, "If you like, you can always drop by and see Eli whenever you want. Dr. Rush as well" she added, when she noticed that Melodys eyes were glued to the scientist. She’s fond of him, flashed through TJ‘s mind. "Thanks… I’ll probably drop by later. I really should go back to work, now. I still owe Dr. Rush some calculations." Quickly she turned and disappeared. TJ looked after her pensively, than she focused on her patients again. Looking at Eli‘s burns she sighed again. This was going to be very hard on the boy. And what exactly was his relationship with Miss Hansen? Tamara did know her name in fact as she had talked to everyone on this ship in her capacity as a medic and pseudo doctor. To be honest though, she had almost forgotten completely about her. She just never saw her around anymore. "That’s not supposed to be happen" she said to herself. 

It occurred to TJ that she really did need to update Col. Young on the conditon of her patients. The Colonel stopped by the infirmary two hours later to see Eli‘s burns for himself. He was no longer concerned about Dr. Rush after TJ assured him that the scientist would just need some rest and would then be okay.

"Can’t you do something for him?" Young asked, when he saw Eli. TJ shook her head sadly. "I can’t even be sure if he is over the worst of it yet. If his wounds become infected and complications set in…" She became silent and Everett put his hand on her shoulder. "Eli’s a tuff guy, he’ll make it" he said, trying to reassure her. More to comfort Everett, she nodded; she was still well aware how serious Eli‘s condition was.


	9. Help for Eli

When Melody entered her quarters, she flopped bonelessly onto the bed. Her head still felt like it would explode at any second and she very much hoped that some rest would ease the pain. It was difficult to find any quiet in her mind. Memories, pictures, tones and melodies swarmed in her head, discordant and inescapable. She closed her eyes and tried desperately to focus on just one image, the space with all the stars. It seemed though, that the more she struggled against the memories flooding her, the worse it became. After a while the pain had grown so bad that she had tears in her eyes and didn't know what to do.

 _Why are you crying?_ , the A.I. asked, the additional input causing her even more pain.

"I don't know how much longer I can stand this" she sobbed in return. Suddenly the pressure eased and she slowly calmed down.

 _I'm afraid that is because of me_ , the A.I. said regretfully. _I will try not to intrude into your thoughts, but I have been alone for so long and there are so many memories contained in your mind… I'm sorry. You still have not become accustomed to me._

"Don't worry, I just really need to get some sleep. Could you restrain yourself until I'm asleep?" she asked hopefully.

_I'll try. Try to think of nothing. I need to figure out how your mind works._

Melody nodded and closed her eyes tiredly. Slowly she drifted off to sleep, something which she so desperately needed.

 

Nicholas heard a low voice when he woke up. The memories of what had happend came back instantaneously to him and he carefully opened his eyes. His head was still pounding; fortunately not as badly as before. Meanwhile, the voice had fallen silent and he twisted his head to the left to have a look at Eli. A wrong decision, he immediatley noticed, the result of which ramped up the intensity of the throbbing.

"Ooouch" he groaned and reached for his temple.

"Yeah, that is going to be with you for a while" he heard Lt. Johansen say as she stepped into his line of sight.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked.

"About 12 hours," TJ said, while she gave him a quick exam.

Rush was none too pleased about how long he had been out.

"The deal was an afternoon nap, if I remember correctly" he hissed angrily. "Nap connotates an hour at most."

TJ shrugged her shoulders,

"You were in dire need of a little time out."

When she had finished her exam, she looked him in the eyes. "I'm still not satisfied with your levels, Dr Rush. I'm sorry, but you have to remain in the infirmary. I'll have someone fetch you something from the mess."

"I'd like to talk to Miss Hansen" he demanded.

"Dr. Rush, the simulated night has already set in. She's in all likelihood asleep by now. It can wait until morning."

He rolled his eyes and after a moment asked "And Mr. Wallace?"

Asking this question was more difficult than he thought it would be. He had been deeply shocked by the burns Eli had suffered and deep down he knew it was his fault. At the same time he was angry because the boy had broken through his protective emotional shell and he was worried about the lad. Exactly what he tried to prevent at all cost.

 _First Gloria, then Mandy and now Eli_ , he thought. _Why am I always losing everyone I grow fond of?_

Tamara's eyes wandered over to Eli, than back to Rush. She could sense that he truly cared about Eli and tried to think of the best way to give him the bad news as gently as possible, particularly as he himself wasn't at his best. There was no way to sugarcoat it and she also knew that Rush didn't like it when anyone was less than direct. So she told him the truth, and although the scientist tried to hide it, she could see that he was upset.

"I'll go and get you something from the mess" she said hoping to give him some time to assimilate the bad news. "Please keep an eye on Eli, will you? At the moment he's stable, but if there's any change I'd like to know ASAP."

Rush nodded and Tamara put a radio in his range. She left the infrimaray, leaving the two men alone.

She had barely walked out the door when someone else walked in.

"Miss Hansen?" Rush asked in surprise. Immediately adding "Are you not feeling well?"

The young woman looked terrible, her eyes were red and her face was white as snow. Her head was pressed agains her palms and it appeared as if she could barely stand. It was obvious that she hadn't figured that Rush would be awake. She flinched when he addressed her; put her hand down at once and noticeably pulled herself together.

"I'm so sorry, did I wake you?" she asked contritely.

"No, you didn't" Rush answered and gave her a long look. "Are you looking for Lt. Johansen?" he asked.

Melody shook her head. "No, I just wanted to check on you and Eli," coming up with a quick excuse. In fact, when she had awoken, the A.I. and she had considered it best to gain access to the devices available in the infirmary. Melody had already been hiding for some time watching the door of the infirmary and hoping that TJ would leave the sick bay for a few minutes so she could sneak in unnoticed. She hadn't planned on Dr. Rush being awake at this time.

"As to Mr. Wallace's condition, you should speak to Lt. Johansen" Rush said shortly. He did not consider it necessary to say anything about his own condition.

Melody sighed softly. Obviously, he was very concerned about Eli; she could see it in his eyes. If her assumption was correct, TJ had probably just told him about Eli's condition. She hesitated only a moment before she stepped closer to his bedside..

 _What are you up to?_ , she could hear the A.I. in her head. _I thought we wanted to try to help your friend._

 _Yes, we will_ , Melody thought, _but I have to talk to Dr. Rush. Ony for a moment, it won't take long, I promise._

"But it is convenient that you are here. There is a lot we have to talk about" Rush said, when the young woman was standing beside him.

"No. We'll talk about things when you're more recovered" she said firmly. The scientist was about to snap at her, but Melody quickly added, "You are worried about Eli, aren't you?" she asked softly and pointedly looked in Eli's direction.

Rush froze and frowned.

"Like everyone else on this ship" he avoided the question. "He's a valued member of my team and it would be very bad if his mathematical genius wasn't available anymore."

Melody gazed at him and said, still softly, "That's not true and you know it. Eli means more to you than being a math genius who is helping you. Something happened between the two of you."

"That is ridiculous" Rush snapped at her, but Melody wasn't impressed by his dissembling.

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone" she said and then lowered her gaze, unable to look him in the eyes just yet. "I know what you have been through."

This time Rush looked at her both alarmed and completely perplexed. "I don't know what you're talking about" he snapped.

"You… lost your wife, didn't you?" she asked almost inaudibly and looked at him again. His eyes told her, that she was right

"How do you know?" he asked as quietly as she and only the slight twitching at the corner of his mouth betrayed his agitation.

"I assumed it since the night on Icarus when you had that fight with one of your colleague in the doorframe of the mess. I was there."

Now it was said. She had made a vow to herself to never tell anyone, especially not Rush. He had gone quiet and once more Melody felt guilty. To make things worse, her headache exploded into agony. The A.I., who had been quiet until then, sounded off in her head.

 _Maybe it would be better to focus on our mission now,_ she suggested, because she was well aware of Melody's discomfort and didn't want her to feel worse.

 _No, I can't just walk away like that_ , she contradicted, narrowing her eyes and unable to supress groaning in pain.

 _There will be much time for this later; you are not feeling well_ , she heard the A.I., sounding very concerned.

Melody forced herself to open her eyes and as inconspicuously as possible, propped herself up with one hand on Rush's bed. When he met her eyes, his expression changed from sorrow to concern.

"Don't be too hard on Eli. I really think he likes you" she continued.

At the same moment she could hear the A.I. again.

 _You… like him too, don't you? Dr. Rush… you even have a crush on him!_ The A.I.'s sudden excitement when she realized the truth made Melody's head almost crack open.

At the same time Rush had replied, "I treat Mr. Wallace like everyone else and I expect the same of him what I expect of all personnel. Do a good job and find solutions to problems."

Since Rush had talked at the same time as the A.I., the pain became too much for Melody. She had to support herself with both hands writhing in pain and finally shouting out loud, "No, I don't!" Obviously that had been meant for the A.I. and it hadn't been her intention to say it loud.

Rush sat up abruptly and grabbed for Melody's arm to steady her before she could slide to the floor. His previous assumption, that something was wrong with her, was proved.

"Miss Hansen!" he said loudly. As she seemed pretty out of it, he didn't hesitate to swing his legs over the edge of the bed, slide down and hold her tight. When he reached for the radio to contact TJ, Melody suddenly clutched his hand.

 _Stop him!_ , she heard the A.I. panic and her hand moved of it's own accord.

 _He mustn't tell anyone!_ The fear of being discovered became rampant and once more the A.I. took control of Melody's body.

The scientist was staggered over the power with which Melody held his wrist. He couldn't free himself.

"Miss Hansen, let go of me!"

"No, don't hurt him" Melody labored trying, to loosen her grip on the Scot, who was now completely puzzled.

What the hell was happening here? To whom was the girl talking?

 _Please, don't hurt him_ , she begged and the A.I. replied _But if he finds out…_

_It would have happenend sooner or later. I promise, I'll protect you, but please let go of him now._

Both Rush and Melody felt her grip loosen and he withdrew his hand quickly.

 _Now may be the one and only chance to gain access to the system_ , the A.I. noted and Melody knew that she was right. Quickly she grabbed the radio from Rush, threw it away, shoved him onto his cot, and stumbled over to a console.

 _Do you really want to do this?_ , the A.I. asked one last time and Melody looked at Eli, who lay there like the dead and looked like shit.

"Yes, I do" she said aloud.

_You must hold on, no matter what happens._

Rush, who had managed to get upright, saw Melody put her hands onto the console. Seconds later the same energy which they had encountered in the artefact, shone around her hands and hit the console. He inched closer towards Melody, whose face was screwed up. Still, she recognized him.

"Under no circumstances should you touch me, otherwise you'll end up like Eli" she warned him and Rush stopped.

"What's happening here?" a voice sounded suddenly from the door. TJ had returned and stared at the bizarre scene in front of her. Rush was standing beside his bed and Melody Hansen's body was shaking badly, her arms and the console she was holding on surrounded by a crackling energy. TJ headed towards her, but Rush restrained her.

"No, don't get any closer" he said. TJ gasped when she saw the girl's arms turning red.

"Do something!" the medic cried distraught. Out of reflex she wanted to drag the young woman away, but Rush's grip grew stronger still, holding her back.

"We can't do anyhing, it's the same energy that burned Eli, and he had barely touched it."

He could see the agony in Tamara's face, having to stand by and watch Melody starting to burn. The skin on her hands and arms started to blister and the girl screamed.

"Rush! I have to help her!" TJ cried and tried to break free. At that moment, the energy died out and Melody fell to the ground.

The scientist let go of TJ immediately and hurried over to the girl as well.

Immediately, TJ checked her vital signs and ordered Rush to put Melody on a bed. While Nicholas carefully did what TJ had asked, the medic sped into the back of the sick bay to fetch water and cloths.

Melody was barely conscious, but when Rush lifted her up, she opened her eyes for a moment and tried to speak "Not evil… TJ… I have… explain…"

Rush frowned as he tried very hard to figure out what Melody had meant.

"There's a lot you have to explain, Miss Hansen" he said and laid her carefully on a bed. Her arms were burned even worse than Eli's and the girl had started to shake.

"Lieutenant!" Rush shouted and stepped aside. The medic came back and thrust the water into Rush's hands.

"Pour some water slowly and carefully over her arms" she ordered and tried to hold the girl down so she could sedate her. Barely a minute later, Melody was calm and asleep and TJ began to take care of her arms.

"What the hell happened here, Rush?" she asked, when she had nearly finished.

The scientist gave her a short summary, that Melody had appeared when TJ had left the infirmary and then stepped to the console. He didn't mention the conversation between them. He recalled the girl's strange behaviour that TJ needed to know about.

"She seemed to be suffering a very bad headache" he told her. "And she talked to someone, but there was no one else here except me."

TJ listened carefully. "Hallucinations?", she suggested.

Rush shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think so. She seemed to have a interlocutor that we can't see."

What he held back was his personal conclusion that during the connection with the pylon something had taken over her. He just hoped that no one else would think about such a possibility. He was curious about the artifact and Miss Hansen, or whoever she was now, had answers. It wouldn't help him if Young put her in quarantine and he couldn't talk to her.

"So, when can I talk to her?" he asked impassively.

TJ looked at him in disbelief. "I beg your pardon? Are you serious?"

"She tried to tell me something important" Rush defended himsel. It hadn't been his intention to piss TJ off.

"That has to wait. Both Eli and Miss Hansen won't wake up for some time; it would be too painful."

Rush sighed. "If it really was as important as Miss Hansen indicated to me, than it's worth it. Give her something for the pain for just a few minutes, after that you can sedate her again."

TJ shook her head. "How can you be so cold?" she asked reproachfully.

Rush stood there impassively and said "This is not only about Miss Hansen's well-being, but also about Mr. Wallace's and of the rest of the crew. You may think me as cold as you like, but you know I have a point. It's too important to discover what just happened, which I might add directly concerns Miss Hansen's current condition. The foreign energy obviously originated from her. You endanger not only her but also yourself if you don't know with what you're dealing."

TJ was furious with the scientist, but she couldn't contradict his words. She had witnessed what had happened and he was right. Melody not only had suffered burns but they had been caused by her own actions.

"Very well," she capitulated. "But not right now. First, I'll need to bandage her arms and she must rest. Tomorrow, I'll see how she is and then decide if I wake her up or not."

Rush wasn't entirely satisfied with TJ's proclamation, but like it or not, accepted it. At least it was a compromise and he sensed he had already strained TJ's patience. He nodded shortly and turned to leave the infirmary when the young woman stopped him.

"Dr. Rush, I don't recall giving you permission to either get out of bed or even less to leave." She gazed at him and pointed wordlessly to his bed.

Rush rolled his eyes and gave in to his fate.

"Try to sleep" TJ said and turned her attention once again towards her other two patients.

 

Once she had made contact with the ship via the console, the A.I. was anxious to hurry. It was one thing to switch a host or to communicate with it; it was another thing entirely to connect with two hosts and interact simultaneously with both with all her being.

If she had been still connected to the artifact, her energy wouldn't have caused any damage; but the human body was so soft and frail, there was always the possibility of harm. The A.I. was sorry that she couldn't protect Melody better, so she did her utmost to access only the devices nearest her, learn their function as quick as possible and retreat back into Melody before too much damage was done.

What the A.I. hadn't expected was the reaction from the ship itself. She had barely made the first connection when she sensed another consciousness which denied her access. The A.I. had quickly realized that it was the Destiny itself which also had a consciousness and allowed her unhesitatingly access to her own self. She focused on the reason why she was here, sent images of Melody, Dr. Rush, Eli and herself and hoped the ship would understand. Obviously it did, and it showed her what she had to know. There was indeed a device which could heal Eli and now also Melody. The A.I. sent thankful thoughts and felt, before she retreated, that the Destiny welcomed her. She knew she wasn't a threat.

When the connection broke and she was back in Melody's body, she transmitted quickly her success, but her human host hadn't beeen able to stand up to the effects. The damage was severe and had caused Melody's consciousness to retreat; a protection against the pain. The A.I. had held her back for a moment and hoped the girl could tell the humans what they had to know, but she couldn't manage. The A.I. let go of her; the only thing she could do was wait. She was used to it. At least she had been successful in their mission and in time the girl would wake up again.


	10. Insubordination and Consequences

Rush closed his eyes, trying halfheartedly to accommodate TJ's order. What had happened recently greatly bothered him and he was far from finding any sleep. He was still puzzling over what had happened to Melody in the obelisk when the neural interface had been initiated. Unfortunately, he could not solve that particular riddle until the girl woke up. To his chagrin, the memory of their last conversation was prominent in his mind.

He well remembered that particularl night on which he had lost an acquaintance as a project member because he wouldn't indulge Rush's attitude anymore. He also remembered how he had curled up and cried after. He had not known, at the time, that he had been observed. That it had been Miss Hanson of all people, someone's existence of which he hadn't even been aware of until a day ago, bothered him greatly. Only Mandy had known his situation and he wished fervently that that's how it had stayed.

And now the girl had obviously realized that there was a growing gap between him and Eli. For a brief moment he thought that Miss Hansen seemed to have the same gifts as Mandy. She was sensitive and gentle and knew how to keep things to herself. She even bore a disturbingly uncanny resemblance to Mandy.

 _Don't start having feelings for the girl too. Don't you see where it led you with Eli_ , he thought, angry with himself.

It seemed it was already too late, though. He was deeply concerned about both young people. That realization made him furious. Furious with himself and his inability to control his emotions. Furious about a ship crowded with incapable people, all of whom were whining and complaining about wanting to go home. Furious because no one except himself realized the opportunity in front of them; that this was the chance of a lifetime what they had aboard Destiny and all her capabilities.  
And he was furious because, once again, he had to stay put in the infirmary and waste his time.

It wasn't necessary to put Col. Young on his list of grievances, he was already the unchallenged number one with his overcaution, ignorance, incompetence and pure fantasy that he was capable of leading these people. Unconsciously he clenched his hand and pounded it in frustration into his bed.

Fortunately, TJ hadn't notice it and Rush's mind wandered once more to Eli. How would the boy react to his condition when he regained consciousness? Those scars would mark him for the rest of his life and remind both of them every second of every day what had happened in the obelisk and that he was jointly responsible. If he had been working alone, as he was want to do, none of this would have happened.

Slowly, his anger gave way to guilt. First he had Eli hurt with words, now it seemed physically. If only Gloria could be here with him…  
He yearned so desperately to be held once again in her arms and two tears appeared in the corners of his eyes.

"Dr. Rush? Is everything alright?" he heard Tamara ask. He hoped she wouldn't see the tears, so he kept his eyes closed and nodded briefly. A moment later he felt her calming hand on his arm. She squeezed it gently.  
"The two of them are gonna be okay" she said in the hope of buoying his spirits; he seemed troubled by the condition of her two other patients.  
"Try to get some sleep" she said and left him alone.  
He tried to remember the peaceful and restful hours he once had with Mandy and very slowly he fell into a restless sleep.

He heard hushed voices when he awoke again. His headache had eased to a dull pounding and this time he turned his head slowly in the direction of the principles. Chloe was sitting beside Eli's bed, speaking softly with TJ. Upon noticing that Rush was awake, she drew TJ's attention to him.  
"Good morning, Dr. Rush. How's your head?" TJ queried as she approached.  
"Better than yesterday" Nicholas answered and waited until TJ had finished her exam of him.  
"Well, your levels are much better. If your head wound also looks better, you may go. To your quarters" she clarified and helped the Scot to sit on the edge of the bed.  
While she removed the bandage, Rush asked, "When are you going to wake Miss Hansen?"  
TJ didn't answer instantly, but took a deep breath. What else had she expected?  
"If I wake her," she replied, emphasizing the word 'if,' "Not until late afternoon or evening." She inspected his wound and said "Looks fine, you don't need the bandage anymore but be careful. No running around the ship. You may do some light work in your quarters; one hour maximum, than take a break. Do I make myself clear?" she asked with a stern look.  
"Yes, yes...whatever you say" Rush replied and slid from the bed. He gave a last look at Melody and Eli than left the room. Chloe followed him with her eyes, head shaking. "You're not really going to wake her, are you?" she asked.  
Tamara looked at her and sighed. "I really don't want to, but Dr. Rush has given me some very good reasons to that I can't ignore."  
"And what about Eli?", Chloe asked.  
"The reasons I would be waking Melody have nothing to do with Eli. I'll keep him sedated until his skin has recovered to a point where it isn't too painful anymore."  
Chloe gave Eli a look for some time and eventually asked in a low voice "His skin will scar horribly, won't it?"  
Tamara sighed. "Yes, it'll mark him his whole life. I'm sorry, Chloe."  
"Why Eli? Why is he the one getting hurt when Rush does something stupid?" Suppressed anger sounded in her voice and TJ didn't know quite how to answer. Luckily, Chloe seemed to have not expected a response. She stayed with Eli for another hour until Matt stopped by and convinced her to take a break.  
TJ, for her part, asked Camile Wray to cover for her for a bit while as she got some desperately needed rest. Prior to seeking her bed, she wanted to check on Rush and make sure he had complied with her instructions.  
She stopped by Rush's quarters and knocked politely. When she realized that he wasn't there, she angrily took out her radio and contacted Dr. Park.  
"I'm looking for Dr. Rush, is he with you?" she asked.  
"He's on the bridge" the scientist answered and TJ thanked her before closing the connection.  
Frowning, she steamed towards the bridge. When the doors opened, she saw Rush sitting in the Kirk-chair, his left hand massaging his forehead and his right hand moving over the controls. TJ stepped down the few stairs and positioned herself in front of him, arms crossed.  
"If I'm not mistaken, Dr. Rush, I believe I said something about quarters, easy work and breaks."  
He closed his eyes in resignation and grimaced when he realized it was Lt. Johansen standing directly in front of him, looking very annoyed. Nevertheless, he tried to talk her down.  
„I'm fine and I have a lot of readings to examine. So please stop making a big fuss over me because I bumped my head."  
Tamara was well aware that everyone else on the bridge was pretending to be busy while in fact they were straining their ears. She leaned forward and whispered "You want to work yourself to death, that's fine; but not on my watch. And that's why I'm ordering you to head to your quarters right now to lie down. To be clear, you are hereby confined to bed. If you dig your heels in, I promise you that I'll summon Colonel Young and Lt. Scott to the bridge and have them drag you from the bridge in front of your whole team and take you to the infirmary, where I will place you in restraints or better yet, sedate you."  
Although the last was calmy and quietly related, Tamara's eyes were sparkling with anger and she looked Rush straight in the eye.  
For two very long seconds, he really considered taking his chances, but in the end he knew her well enough to realize that she wasn't kidding.  
His muscles were twitching around the edge of his mouth when he rose very slowly and left the bridge, Tamara following close behind.  
The doors had barely closed when Brody burst out into laughter. The others grinned mischievously. It had been a pleasure for them to see how Lt. Johansen had put their boss in his place.  
"You almost can't help feeling sorry for him" Brody said, when he had recovered from his mirth and he continued his work far more relaxed.

On the other side of the doors Rush stopped, turned in anger to the medic and hissed "What exactly was that supposed to be? I'm not a china doll. I'm fine and I have a lot of work to do. Stop treating me like a child and go bully someone else!"  
Tamara was unimpressed by his ranting. Calmly she replied "As I indicate, as long as I am responsible for your well-being, you will follow my orders. I understand that you're eager to learn everything about this ship and it's mission, but you overdo it too often. You sleep far too little; you eat irregularly and not enough. You're always on the edge of dehydration and just a few weeks ago you were so badly injured, you nearly died. Yesterday, you were resuscitated from cardiac arrrest and you still are suffering a headache, what is hardly surprising given that laceration. In short, excuse MY attitude but you're not making this easy for me, Dr. Rush."  
The whole time, TJ had spoken calmly, but urgently and with that last sentence had actually managed to make Rush look a bit of guilty. His head was also pounding more than when he had been on the bridge and without being aware of it, he massaged his forehead.  
"Your headache is getting stronger, isn't it?"  
Immediately, Rush dropped his hand to his side.  
"Come on. I think it's best that you accompany me back to the infirmary."  
"No!" he loudly protested. "I'm done lying around and wasting my time."  
A new wave of pain in his head made him gasp and he frowned.  
"Come on" TJ said and grabbed him supportingly by his upper arm.  
Rush was slightly staggering, but could walk with TJ's assistance back to the infirmary.  
Camile was rather surprised to not only see TJ back after only half an hour, but with Dr Rush in tow, who held his head frowning. She immediately assisted the medic and helped get Rush into his bed again.  
"What happened?" she asked.  
"He once again decided to ignore my orders and is paying for it now" she replied in a peeved tone.  
"And your wound is bleeding again" she added, when she examined Rush's head. "Did you make any sudden motions?"  
"It may have been necessary to walk over to some incapable dilettantes to tell them how to do their jobs..." he began.  
"Lemme guess, in doing so you made some gestures and shook your head?"  
It was a rhetorical question as they both knew so there was no need to answer.  
Tamara stepped away from the bed and returned shortly with her medical kit.  
"Okay, you already know the drill...this is going to sting" she warned him, before she cleaned out his wound yet again.  
Rush winced in pain; this time it seemed to burn even more, but he tried to hold still.  
While TJ didn't feel very charitable towards her patient she did try to be gentle and hurry.  
A few minutes later, Rush laid once more on the bed trying to ignore the throbbing pain.  
He had closed his eyes for only a moment and wasn't prepared to suddenly feel something cold in the crook of his arm. His eyes flew open and he saw TJ standing by his side with a determined look on her face, which he knew couldn't be good for him. Especially since she had an IV needle in her hand.  
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked alarmed.  
"Making sure that you really rest this time" she said smugly.  
Before Rush could object, she had started an IV and opened the IV bag. Rush felt the pain ease and simultaneously it became very hard to keep his eyes open.  
"… don't… want to… sleep" he managed to say.  
"Don't worry, it's just the alien venom in a very small dose, you'll just get a bit muzzy. It would be helpful for your recovery though, if you got some sleep."  
Rush managed to gave her a foul look, but TJ just smiled and addressed Camile "I'm going to rest for an hour; he should remain quiet during that time. If you have any trouble, just gimme a call."  
The civilian nodded and TJ gave her patients a last look before she left.  
Camile walked over to Rush, who was fighting to keep his eyes open, and said "You should listen to her. It's no use to anyone if you overdo it. We do need you, Dr. Rush."  
The scientist managed to roll his eyes, what brought a smile to Camile's lips.  
"You brought this on yourself" she added and patted his arm before she had a look at Eli and Melody.  
Rush closed his eyes in anger. No one here really understood the situation. That TJ had used such a radical measure wasn't amusing. Right now though, he couldn't stay awake any longer, so he gave in. At least his headache was gone.

An hour later the medic returned. When she saw that Dr. Rush was fast asleep and Eli and Melody were, at the moment, stable, Camile offered to stay while she took a longer break.  
She was in control of the situation and Tamara was grateful that she could go back to sleep for a few more hours.


	11. Friend or Foe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Since my beta reader is very busy at the moment I asked a colleague of mine to look over the chapter and correct some major (and minor) mistakes. So this chap isn't perfect, but I thought it's time to upload a new one. This will be corrected as well, probably some time later._

When Rush awoke slowly, he felt more rested than he hadn't for a long time. His headache was nearly gone and the infirmary lay in dim light. The IV had been removed from his arm and beside him, in range, stood a cup of water and a bowl with food. He tried to move carefully, grabbed the cup and drank it greedily. He even ate the awful tasting mush until the end.

"You're awake" he suddenly heard a voice which made him almost drop his bowl. He wasn't prepared to hear this voice and he would have prefered not to hear it. Colonel Young appeared and gave him an almost amused look.

"Obviously" Rush just replied and got ready to stand up. Faster than he even realized, Young stopped him. "It's not without a reason TJ had asked me to take the night shift" he said calmly and Rush stared at him in disbelief.

"Night shift!?" His voice sounded startled.

Young nodded. "Seems you were in desperate need for some rest. You slept throughout the whole day, although Lt. Johansen had removed your little sleeping help around noon."

"What time is it?" Rush asked.

Young looked down to his watch. "4.26 a.m. You still have some time to rest. Would you like to have some more water?"

Rush nodded and the Colonel refilled his cup.

"Thanks" the Scot said and drank the second cup nearly as quickly as the first.

"How's your head?" Young asked small talk like.

"Since when are you concernd about my well-being?" Rush teased, who was suspicious about the friendly behaviour of Young.

Everett sighed imperceptibly. What had he expected? The fact, that he was just in a good mood right now and relaxed even about Rush, well, the scientist couldn't anticipate that. Nevertheless he didn't get himself worked up by this unfriendly question and explained once more "As I told you already some days ago, we need you and I'm concerned about every member of this crew."

"Then you should start to be more concerned about Miss Hansen and Mr. Wallace, than of me" Rush replied.

"I do, but you're awake while both are sleeping peacefully."

Rush said nothing and a moment later Young asked "Do you need something else?"

"No, thank you" Nicholas replied brusquely.

"Very well. If you need anything, just let me know. Good night." The Colonel walked away and disappeared out of Rush's sight.

The Scot sighed. It was doubtful that he would find any sleep. Escaping wasn't an option either, Young would probably confine him to the bed, if he tried. So he had no choice but to lie around and wait, until Lt. Johansen would be back. But his quiescence shouldn't take as long, as he had feared.

The A.I. slowly became concerned. The girl was already too long in a deep sleep, but she had to pass on the information regarding the heal devices. Time was running out for both, it had to be done in the beginning.

Melody? she asked tentatively and felt carefully towards her mind until she was stopped by a barrier she couldn't break through. She tried more vehemently by now, but she couldn't make any contact to the consciousness of the girl. The A.I. knew, her next step would reveal her being, but in light of the fact, that this Dr. Rush already was suspicious about it, it was an easy decision. She had to help Melody.

The A.I. tried now to do exactly, what she had done prior by accident. She tried to gain control over the motor function of the host. At least partly. It took some time, but then she found the proper synapses and started with the eyes. Yes, she could see something through Melodys eyes. It was dark, but she could see silhouettes. Next she tried the head. It was hard, but she managed to turn it a bit.

She briefly hesitated to take over the arms, but she herself didn't feel the pain and hopefully Melody neither. Cautiously she tried to lift an arm. It worked. Now she had to make herself felt. Was there someone after all, who looked after them? She hoped so and started, to clench her fingers together and open them again, so they produced a low, but steady scratching noise.

Rush, who had attempted to go back to sleep again, thought, heard something. The noise just had started and it continued. Like a scratching. But from where was it suddenly coming from? He sat up, closed his eyes and listened carefully. Yes, he even heard it more clearly this time. He swung his legs over the edge of his bed to have a better sight over to Eli, but the noise appeared not to come from him. The Colonel, who had vanished somewhere in the dark in the back, seemed not to have heard anything and Rush turned around and looked over to Melody. Wasn't there something that moved? It was too dark to perceive anything for sure, so he slid quietly down from the cot and walked over to her. Her eyes were opened and the fingers of her left hand were the source of the noise.

"Miss Hansen?" Rush asked carefully and just wanted to call for the Col. so that he could inform TJ, when suddenly Melody's hand clutched his wrist. Rush breathed noisily, when he felt something weird.

The A.I. saw Dr. Rush moving and hoped, he would come over, which he eventually did. She just needed to touch him briefly, then she would be able to connect to him and pass on a message. And that's excatly what she did, when she managed to clutch Rush's wrist.

I'm not going to hurt you, she said friendly, when she had contact with Rush's conciousness. I know a way, they both can be healed.

She felt that Rush's conciousness was more open and also vast, more than anything she had ever encountered. Quickly she established a connection and showed him what to do. By doing so she herself received memories of his, which she hadn't intended anyway. She put them aside at the moment.

In the interim Col. Young was aware, that something had happened and was standing by the side of Rush, who stood frozen beside Melody, who had clutched his hand.

"TJ, this is Young, please report to the infirmary now" he radioed and considered, what he should do.

Tamara had told him about the incident regarding Miss Hansen and the energy, but in this case he saw none of it. But maybe her arms were burned too much to see anything.

"Rush?" he addressed the Scot from the side, but he was still staring straight ahead, his lips slightly and his eyes wide open. Was he under the energy flux?

"Rush! Miss Hansen!" Young tried again, this time more forcefully. He had just decided to intervene, to disconnect them both, when Rush suddenly gasped for air. In the same moment he was released, Melody's eyes closed again and she laid motionless again.

"Rush? Are you okay?" Young asked, who immediately had supported the scientist when Melody let go of him.

"Find TJ. Now!" Rush just said and Everett was really worried by now. If Rush himself was calling for the medic, there had to be something terribly wrong.

"She's already on her way" he said and wanted to help Rush getting back to his bed, but the Scot only shook his head and seemed to be strong enough to manage to stand on his own.

"I'm fine, but Miss Hansen just had a message being sent to me, which is very important. There's no time for procrastination." He freed himself from Young, who gave him a puzzled look, and headed towards an ancient device, whose function they hadn't managed to find out yet.

"What do you mean with 'had a message being sent to you'?" Young asked.

"I'll explain later, but right now I need Lt. Johansen here."

"Already here" her voice sounded from behind the two men. She hadn't lost time, was dressed only in her trousers, a shirt and her shoes and seemed to have gotten here at a run.

"I know how to heal Eli and Miss Hansen" Rush said and pulled the large device out of the niche.

"What's that supposed to mean? How can you know that?" Tamara asked in a puzzled way and looked at Young. He didn't seem to know more than her and shrugged his shoulders, but helped Rush to bring the device in position.

"Dr. Rush, I want to know what is happening. How is it possible, you suddenly know something about the device?" Tamara stopped the men.

Rush took a deep breath and explained briefly "As I assumed, Miss Hansen seemed not to be herself at all. Her body is used by an A.I. as a host, which was until now connected to the artifact on this planet. She was responsible for the energy discharge, but there was no other way for her to gather information about the device. Miss Hansen was aware of what would happen to her, and she approved to the procedure, so you were able to help Eli and her."

Both, TJ and Young, had some trouble to understand anything of it, Rush had explained and the medic summarized it quickly. "So you're telling me an alien intelligence is living in Miss Hansen, which suddenly has information about some medical devices on Destiny, which I shall make use of haphazardly? Are you serious?"

"If you don't do it, both of them will be disfigured. We don't have much time left. This is the reason why the A.I. connected with me for a short period to tell me what you have to do. It's your decision, if you're going to save both or not." Rush had crossed his arms by now and waited impatiently.

Tamara looked at Everett, seeking help and he said "That's a difficult decicion, Dr. Rush. We don't know anything about this being, if it really wants to help. What if you're mistaken?"

"But I'm not mistaken. I could feel and see the thoughts of this A.I. She just wants to help."

"It didn't look like that, after what happened on the planet" the Col. pointed out. Rightly so, TJ thought.

Rush rolled his eyes. "I can't tell excatly what had happend in the artifact, I get always released of my work" he teased with a scowl towards TJ "All I can tell you is that you have to start right now, or it's too late."

There was a pregnant silence. TJ was not sure what she should do and especially, if she could believe this time what Rush had told them. He seemed to be really convinced and he had never made a mistake. But this time his thoughts were not based on calculations or analyses, this time it was his feeling. And that, TJ thought, wasn't always the best. On the other hand she knew, he would never endanger Eli intentionally. She looked once more at Everett, but he just said "It's you decision. But no matter which way you decide, I'm backing you."

She briefly smiled thankfully towards her ex-lover, then she looked in Rush's eyes. The Scot focused her with his unreadable 'Rush-gaze' and she turned her eyes to Melody and Eli. Looking at their burnings, it was easier for her to decide. She wanted to help them. If she didn't, they would become disfigured and Melody would probably never could use her arms properly again. If there was a chance to help them, she had to take it. They had already taken some risks so many times, this was worth it.

"Very well, so how is this device working?" TJ asked and Rush unfolded his arms and started to explain.

In the end it was really simple. The dermal regenerator (they had quickly decided to call it that) just had to be positioned above the damaged skin and it took some time, to kill the germs and then reconstruct every single layer of skin.

Tamara had started with Eli's upper arm; if there really was something going wrong, it wouldn't be that bad at that part of the body. But to her relief and fascination, Eli's upper arm was completely healed and as good as new after half an hour. The new skin was still slightly pink, but all the burns had vanished.

"This is incredible" TJ said in an awestrucked way when the first area was healed and she had examined it closely. "The new skin is as soft as the skin of a new born, but it's completely healed."

"We should go on with Miss Hansen" Rush suggested. "Her arms are burned more badly and she has even less time left than Mr. Wallace."

"Agreed" TJ said, and with the help of Young, Rush pushed the dermal regenerator over to the girl. Treating her took a considerable amount of time, but the result was equally satisfying.

Young was standing by Rush's side, when the device was still working, and said quietly "You're aware, that we have to put Miss Hansen under arrest, aren't you? We know nothing about this A.I."

"You always do what you like" Rush just answered and glowered.

"You can still talk to her, but in a controlled way, when we can be sure this A.I. doesn't turn over to the ship" Young said dryly.

This utterance brought thoughts to Rush's mind, but he didn't comment on it. At least, not now. Mesmerized he still watched Melody's arm, whose skin turned normal again very slowly.

"Dr. Rush, I'd like to have a look at your head again" TJ suddenly said and Nicholas was unnerved and rolled his eyes.

"You heard the Lady" Young said ostensibly calm and amicably, when Rush made no effort to move. He pointed to his bed and couldn't bite back a grin, when the Scot sneaked past him.

After TJ had examined his wound and also checked up his vital signs, she said "Let's try it once more, Dr. Rush. Your quarters. Easy work and breaks. Should I catch you out, disobeying my orders again, you'll stay here next week. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes" he growled more than the said it.

"I should hope so too."

"I'd like to talk to Miss Hansen at once when she is awake again" he demanded.

"For that you have to arrange with Col. Young", Tamara referred to Everett.

Rush gazed at the Colonel.

"Safety first, Dr. Rush" Young said cautiously. "As soon as I can be sure, the foreign presence isn't going to hurt us, you may talk to her. Aside from that we have to find a solution for this problem. She can't stay in Miss Hansen."

"I'm well aware of that, but I tell you, the A.I. is not our enemy. You're making moutains out of of molehills again."

Young's expression changed in a saturnine look and he stepped closer to Rush. "That may be your point of view, but I have no idea, who or what is messing around with Miss Hansen's body. And if it has slipped your mind, these energy discharges, which came form the A.I., killed you and injured Mr. Wallace and Miss Hansen badly. And now you're telling me, only because you had a short contact with the A.I., I shall blow all caution to the winds? It is MY responsibility for the people on this ship, and I will definitely not going to make a reckless decision which depends, on top of all, on your feelings."

Rush crossed his arms again and gave Young his 'Rush-gaze' before he said "I know what I felt. If you lock the A.I. and its host up, then you make an enemy. For once you should listen to me!"

Young briefly laughed without humour. "And we all know, where that had lead us in the first place. For instance, onto this ship, billions of lighyears away from home with no possibility of ever coming back."

"You simply could have rejected this mission, you were well aware of it's risks."

"You had order to dial earth, instead of risk dialing the address with the 9th chevron!"

Young and Rush started to get louder and louder.

"How many times do I have to explain this to you, dialing earth was not an option!" the scientist snarled by now.

"It was YOUR feeling, that you did the right thing, which brought us here, and now you demand I'll let go any precautions because of YOUR feeling again?!" Young was down to yelling.

Rush just had opened his mouth to shoot back, when a forceful voice interrupted them.

"Enough!" TJ was staring at both of them in anger. "If you wanna fight, go outside. You are in the infirmary, I have patients, who need rest. And fighting about things you can't undo is a waste of time. I agree with the Col. insofar, that this A.I. can't stay in Miss Hansens body. And until we have a solution for this problem, we should take some precautions and isolate her. If the A.I. is considerate towards us, she'll understand. And now – get out of my sickbay! Both of you! Now!"

At the sight of the furious TJ, none of the two men dared to open their mouth again and almost fled out of the door.

"And Dr. Rush!" TJ called after the Scot, who stopped dead in his tracks and turned around.

"Do as I ordered, or you'll know the other side of me."

His answer was another 'Rush-gaze' then he turned around a corner and was gone.

TJ took a deep breath and said quietly to herself "Why isn't there a bar on this ship where they can have a beer and compromise on their dispute…"

Still shaking her head she concentrated again on Melody, whose other arm was just being treated.

Rush was almost glad, that TJ had stopped him for a moment, so the Col. had the chance to go ahead and he didn't need to listen to his litany anymore.

Bloody idiot, he thought and as a matter of routine he headed towards the bridge until he remembered, what TJ had threaten him with. Upset about Young and Lt. Johansen, he banged his fist against the wall and returned teeth-gnashingly into his quarters.

He laid down on his bed and recalled what had happened.

The A.I. wasn't hostile, he was absolutely sure about that, but the Col. had been right in one point. What had happened in the artifact? Why had they been attacked? Or maybe it hadn't been an attack? Eli had guessed it could be a defense system. And the A.I. couldn't know at this time, who invaded her territory. She had learned, what had happened to them not until Melody had connected to her, and after that she had helped them. Eli's injury had been an accident. How the hell should he convince Young, that they had nothing to fear?

An idea suddenly came to his mind and he bobbed his head up. A second later he literally jumped off the bed and ran back hastily to the infirmary.


	12. Quarantine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Eric, for looking over this chap!

"Dr. Rush, aren't you feeling well?" TJ asked at once, when Rush stormed through the door.  
"I need to see Miss Hansen" he just said and slipped past Tamara, heading towards the bed of the young woman.  
"She's still asleep" TJ said and followed Rush. "Would you please explain to me what you're up to?" she asked when she stood by his side.  
He ignored her and grabbed for Melody's hand. Then he bent over her and whispered "Connect with me once again."  
TJ, who had heard every single word although he was whispering, wrenched his hand back and pushed herself between Rush and Melody.  
"Are you mad?" she yelled.  
"Certainly not" he answered. "But you said you want more proof. The A.I. is harmless and this is the best way to show you. If I manage to connect with her for a longer time, I'll learn everything that has happened."  
"Don't even think about it. It's dangerous enough she's occupying Miss Hansen's body, switching is not an option. Leave. Now." The outstretched arm and finger of TJ, which clearly pointed towards the door, told him in no uncertain terms to leave.  
"It's still a risk of my own and my decision if I want to try."  
"But also Miss Hansen's" TJ shot back. "And I hardly doubt, she would want that."  
"You can't tell" Rush replied.  
"Neither can you. And now leave, before Col. Young will…"  
"Wait" a very low voice interrupted them. TJ and Rush looked in surprise down to Melody, whose eyes were open.  
"You're not supposed to be awake" TJ said and looked to the IV bag, in which the alien venom was still running down to Melody's arm.  
"I know, but I had a little help" she said with a smile.  
"Miss Hansen" Rush pushed himself to the fore, "why have you kept the A.I. a secret from me?"  
TJ rolled her eyes. "Not now, Dr. Rush. My patient just came to, she needs rest."  
"No, please Lt. Johansen, that's okay. Would you please give us a minute in private?" Melody asked.  
TJ thought it over. She knew, she had to inform Col. Young and she didn't want Rush to behave mischievously.  
"I'll keep an eye on both of you and in the meantime, I'm going to radio Col. Young. Any kind of physical contact is prohibited. Miss Hansen, you have to understand that we have to isolate you because of this alien being. For protection of the crew."  
Melody nodded. "Of course. We both understand. It's okay."  
Still a bit unsure if she did the right thing, TJ eventually gave her permission and walked over to Eli, where she realigned the device and could keep an eye on them. But before, she informed Col. Young about what was happening.  
"Dr. Rush, I am sorry, but I couldn't tell you" Melody whispered.  
"Why not? What has happened to you inside?"  
Melody suddenly had a lump in her throat.  
_It's okay, tell him everything. He already knows most of it_ , the soft voice of the A.I. sounded in her.  
"She was so lonely and happy when we arrived. She didn't want to stay alone, I was supposed to stay with her, but I couldn't! And then Eli touched me and she gave up everything just to help him. For that I promised her, she doesn't have to be alone."  
"I'd like to learn more" Rush whispered even more quietly, "can she transfer from one host into another?"  
Melody hesitated and Rush realized, that she was communicating with the A.I.  
Finally she explained "That would be difficult and dangerous. As long as she was connected to the pylon, she was able to adapt her energy level, but now she's linked to me. If she would switch bodies that would be for you, Dr. Rush, extremely dangerous and painful. I don't want that to happen."  
Rush seemed to be disappointed. Besides he was aware, that Col. Young would appear any second. So he went on asking "The A.I. is causing you pain, isn't she?"  
Melody looked uncomfortable. "Yes" she admitted eventually, "but it takes some time, until I am used to it. Everything is still so new."  
"Both Col. Young and Lt. Johansen have taken the view, that this cannot remain a permanent state. The A.I. can't stay inside of you."  
Melody's facial expression changed from one second to another. "I promised, I'd take care of her, and that's exactly, what I intend to do. She helped us!" Her voice sounded indignantly and Rush lifted his hands in a soothing gesture.  
"I understand and I respect your promise, but I have a suggestion for both of you."  
Melody calmed down again. "What would that be?"  
"Actually, Col. Young gave me this idea. The A.I. was connected to the ship to study the devices. And thanks to the connection with me I know Destiny let her in. The ship has it's own consciousness. If the A.I. would have been a threat, Destiny would have never let her in. So why don't we use the chair to transfer the A.I. to the ship's system? She would be safe and, most important, not alone anymore."  
"Dr. Rush!" Young's voices sounded from behind him. "Step away from her."  
Rush placed himself in front of Melody and he put his hands out to keep him away. "Wait, we may have found a solution for this problem."  
Young stopped, his weapon at the ready, TJ by his side.  
"What solution?" he asked, but didn't take his eyes off Melody.  
"Colonel, the A.I. is peaceful, I can guarantee that" Melody said, "But if you feel safer, than lock me up until you made a decision, what will happen to us."  
"You have to understand, safety first" Young said with authority.  
"Colonel, it's not necessary…" Rush started, but a hand was put shortly on his arm and he quietened.  
"Please, don't. I can see his point. We… can see his point."  
"Miss Hansen, please avoid any physical contact" TJ reminded the young woman.  
Melody removed her hand at once. "I'm sorry, shall I draw out the needle on my own?" she asked, looking at her arm.  
"No, I'll do it" TJ said quickly, grabbed some latex gloves and a minute later, Melody was already sitting on her bed, her legs dangling over the edge.  
"Wait a moment until you stand up" TJ said.  
Rush, who hadn't said anything more since Melody had touched him, observed the scene frowning until Melody was lead out by Colonel Young. Without another word towards TJ, he followed them.  
Young restricted Melody to her quarters for the moment and stationed a soldier outside the door. Then he turned to Rush, who had waited the whole time without saying a word.  
"My office" Young said and Rush followed him.

In her quarters Melody took a seat on her bed. She didn't want to admit it, but the decision of Col. Young to put her under arrest, had hurt her.  
"I am so sorry" she said quietly.  
_Don't be sorry, sooner or later someone had noticed something_.  
"What do you think about the proposal of Dr. Rush?"  
The A.I. remained silent for a moment, but then Melody heard her thoughts.  
_I feel comfortable with you, but… I cause your body some pain. Maybe this the best solution. The ship would welcome me, I'm sure about that. But… can we still talk after I'm uploaded?_  
Melody smiled. "I think so, Dr. Rush will find a way."  
_Then it's settled._ The A.I. sounded satisfied, albeit a bit sad.  
"I just don't know what Col. Young thinks about that" Melody said thoughtfully and started to rub against her forehead. The conversations were really exhausting and she felt the pain return to her head at it's highest level.  
_I cause you pain again_ , she heard the AI saying sadly.  
"Don't bother, after all I agreed to that. And I even haven't thanked you for letting Dr. Rush know what he needed to know to prevent Eli and me of some unpleasant memories. Thank you!"  
_My pleasure_ , the A.I. said and went silent.  
Melody's headache eased to a bearable level and since she had nothing else to do, she laid down, grabbed her mp3 player and drifted off to her music.

"You'd like to do what?" Young asked biting, when Rush had submitted his proposal, to transfer the A.I. in the database of the Destiny.  
"This is quite out of the question!" he added in the next moment.  
"Really? Why not? As you might know the ship itself is some kind of A.I. and it didn't considered her as threat. So why shouldn't we transfer her? It would solve the problem regarding Miss Hansen and we have access to new data." Rush was noticeably trying very hard to stay calm.  
Young sighed and sat down. He offered Rush a seat, which he declined.  
"Dr. Rush" Young began "You told me, the A.I. was connected to the artifact in the first place and switched to Miss Hansen."  
"Correct" the scientist confirmed.  
"And if the A.I. is capable of uploading Destiny systems, then it should be also capable of switching into another object, do I get this right?"  
Rush became uncertain. What was he getting at? "Principally, yes."  
"Good. Then we should think about settling the A.I. down on the next planet. Maybe there is another object where she can link to…"  
"No, you don't understand" Rush flared.  
"Then tell me!" Young shoot back.  
The scientist was noticeably agitated and gestured almost passionately while he tried to explain to Col. Young, what he had learned.  
"The A.I. had left the pylon just for one reason, because Miss Hansen had promised her, she won't have to be alone any longer. She gave up everything, just to help us. You can't just abandon her on a planet. Even the stones, the pylon was built of, was a basic substance of which the A.I. came into being at all. She can't link herself to dead things, she needs another intelligence to switch to. And Destiny is the best option.  
Col. Young had listened very carefully, but wasn't sure, he got everything. "So, to put it in another way, this A.I. needs a living host" he summarized.  
"Broadly speaking, yes." Rush crossed his arms again.  
Young stroked his hair which was slowly growing too long. He considered Rush's words for a moment before he said "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid, this is not enough. We need another solution. Transferring the A.I. into Destiny is not an option at this moment."  
The Scot compressed his lips and gave the Col. another nasty look before he left the room without another word.  
Young sighed, when the scientist was gone. _Why is this man always causing so much trouble?_ He thought frustrated.

TJ stifled a yawn. Since Col. Young had called for her in the early morning hours she was lacking some sleep. After Melody had recovered and left the infirmary, she had focused on Eli. His leg, left side and arm were already healed, only his face had to be treated.  
"Good morning, how about some breakfast?" Chloe walked in, holding a large plate of fruit in her hand and headed for the chair beside Eli's bed.  
"What's that?" she asked, looking suspicious to the device, which was positioned above Eli's face. Then she saw his arms and leg. "TJ! How is that possible?" she asked thrilled, putting the plate aside and coming closer to examine her friend more closely.  
"Dr. Rush had found out, with a little help from an artificial intelligence, that the ancients have a device on board for dermal regeneration. It's working perfectly, as you can see."  
"Artificial intelligence?" Chloe asked and watched amazed Eli's facial wounds disappearing slowly.  
Tamara explained more detailed what happened during her absence.  
"Okay, but sounds like we made a new friend. So why is Col. Young locking her up?"  
"He only can rely on the proposition of Dr. Rush. And you should know as one of all people…", TJ got stuck and didn't know how to go on without leaving doubts on Rush's motives. But Chloe understood.  
"Don't bother, TJ. I know, Dr. Rush can be a bastard, but on the other hand he would never endanger himself. And if he is convinced, the alien being is safe with us, I believe him." With that she settled the issue and focused on Eli again.  
"When his face is healed, are you waking him again?" she asked.  
"Yes, for sure" TJ said absent-minded. Chloe just had made a very good point regarding Rush's idea. Maybe she should tell Col. Young. But that had to wait until she had the time for it.  
Half an hour later (meanwhile they ate the fruits), the dermal regeneration was completed and with help from Chloe, TJ shoved the device back to it's niche. Then both women stood beside Eli and examined the work.  
"He looks like new" the girl commented with a smile. Softly she stroke over Eli's cheek and said "Feels like from a newborn."  
"Then let's hear what Eli has to say." TJ removed the IV and now they had to wait.  
"I'll stay with him" Chloe offered and Tamara nodded.  
"Thanks Chloe, I'll use the time for a house call." With that said she headed towards Rush's quarters.

Meanwhile Melody was half asleep. She had drifted off in her music and simultaneously vague images and thoughts slipped into her mind, which were not hers. Not only that, occasionally she could feel also the sadness and self-doubts, which came along the images. The music faded and she drifted deeper into the other memories. The images were getting clearer, she could understand single words, then sentences.  
_I already have lost so much, I must not be worried about Eli as well_. This sentence was a memory.  
_Gloria, I love you so much, why did you leave me? I died with you..._  
While she was sleeping tears started to run down Melody's cheeks and she was thrashing around.  
_No! Eli! Oh god, please let him be alive!_ She knew this image, but the perspective was different. She looked directly down to Eli, who laid in the dust with all his burns.  
_Don't be too harsh on Eli, I really think, he likes you._ This time she saw herself and it were her words.  
_I care for him, that's why I'm so harsh. He and Mandy are my family._  
"Eli! No!" Melody woke up with a scream. Her heart was racing and she breathed faster. The memories and feelings were so intense that she knew, they weren't just dreams. They had been real. They were memories and feelings of Dr. Rush.  
But how did they were supposed to be in her consciousness?  
_Are you responsible for the memories?_  
_I'm sorry, that happened during the connection with Dr. Rush. He transferred some of his memories to me. I was busy with you and your thoughts and memories._  
When you're thinking of music or hearing it, there are always so many synapses activated... it's like a banquet. Thereby I may have passed to you the memory engrams of Dr. Rush. The A.I. sounded contrite, but Melody asked, _Do you have more?_  
_Yes, there are some_ , she answered.  
_Can you show me?_  
Close your eyes, the A.I. requested and new images and new feelings flooded in Melody's consciousness, unfortunately she also felt her usual pain raising in her head.  
This time she saw Rush with closed eyes, listening to his wife, who played, most beautifully, the violin. A few tears wept down his cheeks, but he didn't wipe them away.  
The scene changed back to Eli, who was leaving the bridge in a hurry. Here she could sense a feeling of guilt, what Rush had felt, because he had hurt Eli.  
A beautiful woman with brown hair appeared, who was sitting in a wheelchair and was connected to a respirator. Melody sensed, that he liked her very much and felt secure and safe with her.  
_This has to be that Amanda Perry_ , she thought. She felt a sting of jealousy, but rebuked herself in the next moment. She had no right to be jealous. It wasn't Dr. Rush's fault, that she felt something for him.  
Unfortunately her own emotions seemed to be too much. A searing pain flashed through her head and brought tears to her eyes. She pressed both palms to her temples and curled up herself. In an instant the flood of the other reminiscences stopped and it took a while, until the pain became bearable.  
"Why wasn't I experiencing this pain when I was dreaming?" Melody asked in the room, gasping for breath.  
_Your mind was relaxed and susceptible, you had let it do what it liked and stayed passive. Just now you analyzed a situation and combined with me and the other memories, it was obviously too much._  
"Can I do something to control it?" she asked.  
_Meditation would be a good method. But... there's still so much... pain and sadness in you, before you can really connect to me, you have to be in balance with yourself. And I'm afraid, you're still nowhere near it._ It wasn't meant as reproach by the A.I., it was just an observation. Nevertheless, Melody blushed. It brought memories back to her, but she pushed them away. She didn't wanted to see that.  
_Would you prefer to hear some music again?_ the A.I. suggested and Melody nodded.  
She had just put her earplug back and the first bars sounded, it was like balm to her. Relieved she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and focused completely to the music.


	13. A bad decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Oooh, this is a Story I have 3 different people looking over - maybe I need some more. Thanks Alexandra for this chapter..._
> 
> * * *

"Come in" Rush said absently, when someone knocked at his door. He looked up and wasn't very surprised to see Lt. Johansen. "Your compliance visit?" he asked bitingly.  
Tamara smiled. "Just a house call. But I'm very pleased to see, that you're following my orders" she praised him, in light of the fact that he was half sitting, half lying on his bed, arms crossed and apparently doing nothing.   
"Since you have convinced yourself that I'm still alive, don't you have a patient in the infirmary?"  
"I have, but he should be fine. Chloe stays with him until he wakes up. And while I'm here, I'd like to take the time and check on your head." TJ gave him a disarming smile and Rush sighed. He put his arms down and bent forward, so the medic could inspect the wound.  
"If you remain calm for another day, I allow you to work on the bridge again. Part time", she added, when Rushs facial expression lightened up.  
"At least something", he said with a sigh.   
"Well, I'll leave you alone again. Use the time to take a good rest and pay me a visit tomorrow morning. "Then we'll see."  
The scientist frowned and nodded shortly. "As you wish."  
"Shall I let you know when Eli is awake again?" Tamara asked.  
Rush hesitated shortly, but said "That won't be necessary. I'll see him tomorrow at work."  
TJ hid her disappointment. She had really hoped, that the scientist had become more humane since the incident with Eli and Melody, but obviously she had been wrong. When he had protected Eli with his own body, Tamara had actually been surprised and was touched. "Very well, see you tomorrow."  
Rush waited until the medic was gone, then he left his quarters and headed towards the repository. He had to prepare some things.

Eli was very surprised, when he saw Chloe's face after he opened his eyes.  
"Eli, you're awake!" she called out with joy and gave him a warm smile.  
The young man frowned and stared at her, like she was a ghost. Surely he was dreaming. But then Chloe called for TJ and when she also stepped in his view he knew, that he was awake. But why was Chloe here? Und where was here?  
Infirmary. The artifact. Energy discharge, Dr. Rush, Melody... MELODY! The memories came back abruptly and he asked "What about Melody?"  
"Relax, Eli, she's alive" TJ said.  
"But?" he pressed her, 'cause he sensed, there was something else.  
TJ and Chloe exchanged a look.  
"What's up with her?" Eli got slightly upset.  
"She's in her quarters" Tamara said. "In quarantine."  
"What? Why? Is she sick?" Eli asked.  
"A... foreign lifeform uses her body as a host. For the time until we find a solution, Col. Young had ordered her to stay in her quarters. After all we don't know if she's friend or foe." TJ looked a bit uneasy.  
"Are you kidding? She almost sacrificed herself to get us out, when she linked to the artifact. Is this how we thank her?" He got ready to stand up.  
"Eli, wait" Chloe said helplessly, while Eli pulled himself together. Even TJ couldn't stop him.  
"I want to see her and speak with her."  
"Eli, that's not possible at the moment" Chloe said softly. But the MIT dropout just glared at her.  
"Why are you here anyway?"  
Chloe grew pale. "What... what do you mean? I wanted to be with you when you wake up" she stammered, completely startled because Eli had snapped at her.   
"It's not necessary for you to pretend that I mean something to you. Maybe you better go to Matt, he needs you more than I do."  
Chloe was so shocked, that she just stared at him, her eyes widened. Her mouth became dry and she felt horrible. What had gotten into Eli that sudden? She didn't do anything. Whereas the young man was furious, Melody had been locked up. Alien being aside, but Col. Young didn't have the right to treat her like that. He also hadn't intended to let Chloe know in such a way, that he had overheard the conversation between her and Matt, but at the moment he was just so angry and he couldn't stand hypocrisy. Besides, she was also just in range.  
"Eli, maybe you should rest for a spell to digest the new information" TJ stepped in and held him back on his shoulder, just as he wanted to stand up.  
"I'd like to talk to Melody. Now." He glared at TJ. She nodded towards Chloe and she understood. It was best to retreat for now, they couldn't reason with him at the moment.  
"I'll better go" Chloe said quietly, gave Eli one last, sad look and left.  
"Eli, Col. Young won't allow you to visit Miss Hansen for sure, as long as she is under quarantine. Please calm down."  
Eli wrang his hands and let himself drop on the bed again. "Well, I take a rest", he said in a peeved tone.  
Tamara slapped on his back. "Good call." Then she left him alone.  
"TJ!" he called after her.  
The young medic came back again. "Yes?"  
"How is... Dr. Rush?" he asked and swallowed.  
TJ smiled. "Believe me, he's better than it's good for him."  
Eli snorted. "Why do I even ask..." he just said.   
"He was very worried about you" she said.  
Eli rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure." It was obvious, he didn't believe a single word.  
TJ started to worry about Eli. It was absolutely uncharacteristic for him to become so angry. And that he snapped so hard at Chloe, she had never seen him acting like that before.  
For what she knew, he always had a weakness for the girl and even so when she got involved with Lt. Scott, they were still close friends. So what had happened between them?  
"Lt. Johansen, this is Young", the voice from the radio brought her back.  
"Yes, Colonel?"  
"Please report to my office, there's something we have to discuss."  
"Copy that. I'll be there in a few minutes. Johansen out."  
"Excuse me, Eli, I'll be right back. Shall I ask Chloe..." TJ didn't even have the time to finish her sentence, when Eli interrupted her "No, that's not necessary. I'll be fine. And if something happens, I'll let you know." Eli waved the radio, which laid beside him.  
"Under no circumstances am I going to leave you alone, not, since you just woke up. Do you have someone in mind I should maybe call for a visit?" TJ offered.  
Eli shrugged his shoulders. "Actually, I'd like to be alone" he answered.  
"Compromise, I'll post someone at the door, then you're alone and I can be sure that there's someone there, if something should happen" TJ suggested.  
"Fine with me." He closed his eyes and showed, that he was done with any discussions.  
Five minutes later a military person stood outside the door and TJ was on her way to Col. Young.

"Come in" Young said, when someone knocked. A smile came to his face when Tamara entered.  
"Tamara! Do you like something to drink?" he offered and switched in the private mode, cause they were alone.  
"No, thank you" TJ declined and sat down on the other side of the table. "My read is, this is about Miss Hansen and the blind passenger?"   
Young nodded. "I rack my brain the whole day what is the best to do. I'd appreciate your advice, or a recommendation." He leant back in his chair and waited for TJ to answer.  
"I'm not sure I can be very helpful with such a decision" she said hesitantly. "I can just confirm so far, that she had helped us. The burnings of Miss Hansen are completely healed and Eli has been awake for half an hour and he has recovered. If the A.I. hadn't accessed the Destiny and told Rush what to do, I couldn't have done anything for both of them. They'd stay disfigured and Miss Hansen couldn't even use her arms again."  
Everett remained quiet and tapped his thumbs together.  
"And Chloe said something, which unfortunately I have to take as a very good argument."  
"So? What would that be?" Young asked.  
"She said, Dr. Rush would never endanger the Destiny or himself, and we both know, that she's right. And he was connected to the entity, he should have known if she had any ulterior motives.  
The Col. sighed quietly. "That's exactly my problem, TJ. I simply don't know, if I can trust Rush here."  
"Then you should maybe get a second opinion", the medic suggested.  
Young gave her a questioning look.  
"Did you ever talk to Miss Hansen? If you need informations, get them at first hand. After all it's her body who holds the A.I." Saying this, TJ suddenly remembered, that she had forgotten something important. Rush had told her that Melody seemed to be suffering of a really bad headache, but in the whole tumult, which occured afterwards, she had completely forgotten about that, especially because she had been sedated. But now she was awake and TJ had only checked on her arms, before she had been escorted to her quarters.   
"I have to pay her a visit anyway. Rush mentioned, she was experiencing a great deal of pain in her head." She stood up and Young said: "I'll come along."  
Together they left Young's office and arrived shortly after at Melody's quarters.  
"Sir!" The guard saluted and stepped aside so both officers could enter. Tamara knocked. When there was no answer, Young opened the door.  
"Miss Hansen?" he asked. Melody laid on her bed, the eyes closed and she seemed to be asleep. At least the Col. thought so, until he saw the earplugs.  
"Miss Hansen!" he said louder. Melody opened her eyes in surprise and sat up in an instant.  
"Col. Young, Lt. Johansen!" She removed the earplugs and looked at both officers a bit worried.  
"The Col. like to ask you some questions and I like to know, how you're feeling? Dr. Rush mentioned, you experienced a strong headache."  
TJ and Col. Young kept a distance to Melody and she stroke shyly a strand of hair behind her ear before she answered "I'm fine, thank you. I'll get used to it."  
"Do you need something for the pain?" TJ asked.  
Melody shook her head. "I've had enough of that, thank you."  
"Miss Hansen" the Col. took over the talking "I'd like to have some more informations about the A.I."  
"What do you want to know?" Melody asked.  
"Dr. Rush said, the A.I. isn't hostile. But to be honest, I can't make a picture only based on his prediction, of what we're dealing with. I had hoped, you can tell me more so I can make a decision."  
"Dr. Rush is right of what he told you. I'm connected to her, there are no secrets between us. She abandoned her living space just to help us. We owe her something in return."  
"Was that your answer or the answer of the A.I.?" Young asked.  
Is he always that leery?, Melody heard the A.I. in her head.  
Yes, but he has to, he's responsible for the crew. He doesn't know you.  
So how can we convince him?  
To he honest, I don't know, but I'll try everything. I keep my promise.  
Melody felt her headache growing stronger and bringing her to the edge of the bearing pain.   
"Miss Hansen?" TJ asked worried, when she saw that Melody screw up her face in pain.  
She kneaded her forehead and said "It's okay. That happens, if I concentrate on too many things at the same time."  
"The A.I. causes you pain?" Young broached the subject again.  
"Not on purpose" Melody defended herself immediately, as she suspected, that the Col. tried to find something negative, for whatever reason.   
"Two forms of consciousness in one body…" TJ said more to herself. "Something like that had happened before in Atlantis. I read the report of Dr. Beckett. During an incident with a Wraith, another conscioussness was transfered to the body of Dr. McKay. Dr. Beckett wrote, if I remember correctly, that Dr. McKay suffered a stroke and that it's not possible to live with two minds in one body for a longer period of time."  
"How did they solve the problem?" Young asked interested.  
"I only read the medical file, but I think, in the end they used the Stargate to seperate them."  
"The stargate…" Young appeared contemplative.  
"Colonel, you should bear in mind that in this case, there was another body in which the other mind could be returned into" TJ added. "We don't have this option."  
Young thought about that for a moment, then said "Miss Hansen, thank you for your assessment. I hope, you'll hang on for some time and understand the situation."  
"Of course, Colonel. But let me get this one straight - I promised to the A.I. that no harm will be done to her. And I intend to keep that promise." Melody's face turned into a stone mask, her expression became uncompromising and hard.  
The bottom right eyelid of Young fluttered briefly, when he narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn't like this kind of statement.  
"Miss Hansen, that is not your decision. You are not responsible for this crew. But I am." Young's face turned into an expression, which would have silenced anybody immediately.  
"So this is how we thank the A.I.?" Melody wanted to flare up, something, she had never done before, but she was angry about this injustice.  
Melody, don't, she heard the other voice in her head. Simultaneously TJ said "Miss Hansen, I think, we should end this discussion. Agitation is probably the last thing, which works for you at the moment."  
She's right, we'll find a solution, the Col. hasn't made his decision yet, the A.I. tried to calm her down.  
"It's always the same" Melody ranted loudly, ignoring both voices. "How many times did Dr. Rush do the right thing and you simply ignored it? Just because you can't stand him! But you have absolutely no idea why he is like that, he…" Melodys voice broke and she suddenly curled herself.  
"Melody?" TJ was pomptly by her side and supported her.  
Col. Young stood there thunderstruck and watched the scene, which happened right in front of his eyes. The young woman had closed her eyes and her whole body convulsed.  
"To the infirmary, now!" TJ shouted, but Young hesitated.  
"Everett!" Tamara looked at him, as if he was a stranger and then he reacted finally. Without a word he lifted Melody up in his arms and followed TJ.

Eli startled when he heard loud voices and quickly approximating footsteps.  
"Melody! What happened to her?" he called out, swept his blanket aside and slid from his bed when he saw her.  
TJ ignored him for the moment. "Everett, try to keep her still!"  
The Col. put his one arm over her legs, the other, supported by some weight of his own body, over her upper body.  
"Eli, could you give me a hand please?" the Col. asked when he saw the young man getting up.  
"On it." Together they pushed the flinching girl down on the cot until TJ came back, injecting her something. It took not long until she relaxed.  
"I just hope, that wasn't a stroke like Dr. McKay experienced" Tamara said nervously and started to give her a close check up. Young and Eli made way for the medic.  
"What happened to her?" Eli asked with a low voice, not taking his eyes off Melody for one moment.  
"Obviously there is a problem for a human body to contain two minds at the same time" he explained.  
"You have to help her!" Eli shouted.  
"We try, but we don't know yet how" Young said.  
"Yes you do, because I told you" Rush's voice suddenly sounded from behind. Young rolled his eyes and sighed loudly.  
"Shouldn't you be in your quarters?" he asked with a fake smile.  
"H-h-hold on a second" Eli interrupted them "You can help her?" he adressed Rush.  
He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and gave Young a provoking look.  
"He thinks, we should allow the A.I. to switch into the systems of the Destiny" Young explained.  
"Is that possible? So what are you waiting for?" Eli bursted out and looked at Young.  
"Eli, I can't let that happen. Not yet" Young said sharply and gave Rush an according look of reproach. "Until now we just know, that the A.I. killed Dr. Rush and injured you badly. Of course I won't exclude that it was just an accident" Young added hastily when Eli and Rush started to open their mouth indignantly and wanted to fire.  
"But the only information I have is of Dr. Rush who told me she is harmless after a short contact with the A.I. Miss Hansen, who is telling the same and is lying over there unconsciouss and has to be treated by TJ because of the A.I.!" Young's voice had gotten louder and louder, because he ran out of steam to explain himself to excatly these two, why he was doing or deciding something the way he did.  
"But both Dr. Rush and Melody say…" Eli started again, clearly outraged, but Young cut him off.  
"That's enough, Mr. Wallace. I have my reasons and neither I have made a decision yet." He ditched both of them and walked over to TJ.  
"Status?" he asked.  
"As far as I can judge, she hasn't had a stroke. It was more a reaction to the enormous pain. But the next time she may not be that lucky anoymore." She turned around to the Col, crossed her arms and gave him a severe look. "Everett" she said quietly, "we can't wait any longer. You have to make a decision."  
Youngs eyes wandered from her to Melody, then over to Rush and Eli.  
"Dr. Rush" he said eventually, "find a way to bring the entity back to the planet, specifically in the ruins. No one says the stones have to be arranged in a specific form. Once we have won some time, I'll talk to the A.I. and I'll form an opionin on my own about her."  
Eli and TJ gave him a doubtfully look, while the expression of Dr. Rush stayed the same, except, he maybe was a bit more glowering.  
"This is just a temporary solution" Young added soothingly.  
When no one said a word he adressed the scientist: "Dr. Rush?"  
Rush put his arms down. "I'm not fit for duty yet. Talk to Lt. Johansen." He simply ditched the Col. and walked away.  
This time it was Young's turn to look after him in disbelieve.  
"Everett" Tamaras voice was almost not audible and he turned around to her. She just shook her head slightly.   
"Lt., I expect from you to confirm Dr. Rush fit for duty, then you'll send him to work. This is about an alien being in Miss Hansen. That's an order!" he said brusquely.  
TJ swallowed. Of course she could argue now with her medical rank, but Young was right in one point, they had to free Melody from the A.I. asap. And as long he refused to let her in Destiny's systems, his plan wasn't that bad.  
"I'll talk to him. But that's all I can do." Her expression told Young, that he was lucky, she would do that after all, so he didn't probe. Without another word he left the infirmary.  
Why had he insisted on his vacation? No, vacation had been a good idea, it had been Dr. Rush again, who had caused the problems. Like always.  
We really would be better off without this fucking bastard, he thought bitterly, but then he called himself to order. It was not only Rush's fault, he just had to learn to handle this man. So he took a deep breath and hoped, TJ would be successful.

"Is he now completely out of his mind?" Eli was gobsmacked and angry. He stood beside TJ at Melody's bed and looked at the girl.  
"Eli please, don't say something like that" TJ rebuked him indulgently.  
"Yes, I do! We can help her and he is stubborn, just because he dislikes Rush and obviously doesn't give a shit on Melody's opinion."  
"Eli!" Tamaras voice sounded hard now. "Col. Young is responsible for the whole crew, you can't hold against him that the safety of the personnel is more important. He also needs some time to compile facts and I don't think his compromise solution is that bad. Maybe he could have put it in another way."  
This argument put a damper on Eli and he had to admit to himself, that both TJ and Young were right in a way. Why was he just so aggressive? He almost didn't know himself anymore. TJ seemed to have noticed the same, because she asked now, "Tell me, Eli, are you okay? I have never seen you so very upset. And your previous behaviour towards Chloe wasn't gentleman-like either. Wanna talk about something?"  
Eli looked quite discomfortable. "No, I'm fine. Maybe the whole agitation and situation in the pylon was too much. It was really scary in there. I didn't know if we would ever get out. I'm sorry."  
TJ felt that he was holding back something, but she didn't want to push him. She rubbed quickly her forehead and then said, "Melody will be fine, as long as she stays sedated. What about you, do you have any complaints? How is the new skin feeling?"  
"I'm perfectly fine, the skin is a bit unfamiliar because it's still a bit sensitive, but I'm getting used to it."  
"In that case, do you want to return to your quarters and have some rest?" TJ offered him.  
"Can I stay a bit longer with Melody?" he asked instead.  
TJ gave him an apologizing look when she answered, "I'm sorry, Eli, but Melody is still under quarantine. It would be better, if you returned to your quarters."  
TJ could see that the young man wasn't quite happy about the expulsion, and she felt sorry, but it was better at the moment.  
"All right, I got the message. But please tell me, if there's something new, okay?"  
"Of course. Pay me a visit tomorrow morning for a check up, will you?"  
Eli nodded, looked one last time at Melody, who was still laying there peacefully asleep and left the infirmary.  
Tamara sighed. She would feel so relieved, when this was finally over.


	14. Maneuver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thanks Alexandra for this chap... only 3 to go... hopefully you won't have to wait too long for it...._

In the evening Tamara decided to fulfill her promise she made to Young and paid Dr. Rush a visit in his quarters. Dr. Park had offered to take the night shift and the medic had thankfully accepted. But before she would use the time for herself, she had to talk to the scientist.  
"Yes!" his voice sounded brusquely and TJ entered.  
"The next house call?" he asked and put the laptop, which he had balanced on his lap, aside. He was again sitting, legs outstreched on the bed, which brought a smile on Tamaras lips. She had never thought, that Rush could be so obedient.  
"May I sit down?" she asked politely and Nicholas allowed it with a brief nod of his head. Then he crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited for her to tell him, what she wanted. Of course he expected that it would have something to do with Young, which TJ confirmed seconds later.  
"Dr. Rush, I know, you have your own opinion regarding the A.I., but I ask you to let Col. Young some time to make a decision. He is really concerned about the safety of the crew." TJ looked at him almost puppy-eyed.  
"The Colonel is a bloody idiot" Rush just said and Tamara decided to simply ignore this insult. "He can't be serious thinking of sending the A.I. back in a pile of ruins! They may be the same stones, but it was also the technology of the orignial people, which was necessary to give the A.I. an existence. And this was destroyed. He could tell her as well just to take a tree trunk for a new home."  
"Did you already explain that to him?" she asked.  
Rush snorted. "Do you really think he is listening to me? You saw it!"  
TJ sighed. "You may work again" she said. "But I want to see you every evening in the infirmary to take a look at your head wound. And try to take it slow."  
"Thank you" Rush said and TJ tried one last time to convince him. "Please, Dr. Rush, at least try."  
"Very well. But I tell you, it's only a waste of time."  
"Thank you for doing it anyway" TJ said relieved and whished her good-night, before she left his quarters to get some sleep on her own.

Lisa Park had taken her book along and had made herself halfway comfortable on a cot besides Meldoy. Apparently she had dozed off, because she starteld up off her sleep, when she heard a noise.  
"Hello? Is anybody there?" she asked into the darkness. It was just a dim light on a few spots and she looked down at her watch. It was half past one in the morning.  
Then someone stepped through a cone of light and Lisa sat up. Dr. Rush appeared in the next moment, carrying a laptop under his arm.  
"Dr. Rush? What are you doing here at this time?" she asked surprised and couldn't bite back a yawn.  
"I couldn't sleep. Since Lt. Johansen had knocked me out that long I'm pretty rested now. I thought I could relieve you and take the night shift, if you like. I have work to do and it doesn't matter if I do it here or in my quarters. You on the other hand have to be rested by tomorrow, there's a lot of work to do." Rush gave her a slight smile, which made Dr. Park however suspicious. Since when was Rush so kind and courteous? But she also knew, that he really had had a long sleep and she could understand, that he needed something to do. Since she was really tired, she was grateful for his offer.  
"That's very kind of you. To be honest, I really am tired. You're sure you want to do this...?"  
"Yes, go to your quarters. Have some sleep. If there's anything happening, I'll let Lt. Johansen know."  
Lisa slid from the cot. "Okay, well… thanks again. Good night."  
Rush's eyes followed her until she turned a corner, then he stepped up beside Melody and carefully removed the IV needle, after he had disconnected the IV bag. He knew what he had to do. He had learned it while he was caring for his wife.  
"Miss Hansen" he whispered in her ear. "Wake up!" He also knew, Melody herself would probably not hear him, for that the venom had to be neutralized first, he was more hoping for the A.I. to hear him.  
_Melody?_ The A.I., who had gone in some kind of sleep too, heard Dr. Rush.  
"Miss Hansen!" Rush carefully shook her by her shoulder. "You have to wake up. Or give me a sign if your other conscioussness can hear me."  
At first the A.I. searched for Melody's conscioussness, but the drug was still too strong. So she tried to make herself felt.  
Rush waited tensely and suddenly the hand of the young woman moved towards him. That had to be the A.I. Good, so she could hear him.  
"Try to wake up Miss Hansen, there is something, we need to do", he said quietly and her hand squeezed his, which probably meant that she understood.  
It took a bit more than half an hour before Melody slowly opened her eyes.  
"Dr. Rush?" she asked still dazed.  
"Miss Hansen, is that you?" he asked.  
"Yes. The A.I. brought me back a bit earlier. She told me it would be urgent."  
"Indeed. I'm gonna help both of you. I've prepared everything in the repository, we'll upload the A.I. into the ship's system."  
"Really? Did Col. Young give his permission eventually?" she asked still sleepy.  
"Not quite. But there is no other way. Come on, I'll give you a hand."  
Rush shoved his arm under her shoulders and lifted her up. Melody was still too weak to move on her own and her head fell against Nicholas' chest, after he had brought her in a sitting position.  
She closed her eyes. Was she still dreaming? She could hear his heart beating and felt the warmth of his body beneath his shirt. For a moment she sighed happily, then she was lifted up. Her head was now resting on his shoulder and she felt secure.

Rush carried her on some detours through the corridors, until he arrived at the repository. Cautiously he let her down in the chair and locked the door from inside. He didn't want to risk a disturbance.  
Melody's mind had became clearer but the venom in her blood still caused her some trouble to move her body.  
"What happens now?" she asked, when Dr. Rush vanished out of her sight.  
"I have prepared everything in the afternoon. Don't worry, it won't take long anymore."  
"What about Col. Young?" Melody asked again.  
"Leave him to me" Nicholas just said and although Melody felt uneasy about that, she knew, that neither she, Dr. Rush nor the ship were mistaken about the intentions of the A.I. She was their friend and deserved a good home.  
"Do I have the time to say good-bye?" Melody asked.  
"Sure. I need two more minutes for the last adjustments."  
The girl closed her eyes and concentrated on the A.I.  
_So, it's time_ , the A.I. said.  
_It seems so. Thank you so much for your help. Is this really what you want?_  
_Yes, don't worry about me. Our connection was slightly… flawed. This is the better solution. And we can talk at any time._  
_I promise. May I ask you for a last favour?_ Melody sounded a bit shy.  
_Sure_ , the A.I. replied.  
_Can you share the remaining memories of Dr. Rush with me?_  
_If that's what you want_ , she just answered and shortly after she had said so, Melody gasped, because the A.I. was sending her all at once.  
"Miss Hansen?" Rush asked a bit worried when he heard her gasping. But she didn't answer. He walked in front of her but she seemed to be relaxed, so he guessed, she was still talking to the A.I.  
Most of the memories Melody had already seen, at a later time she would sort out the images and feelings.  
_Thank you_ , the girl said.  
_I'm ready_ , the A.I. noted.  
Melody opened her eyes again and said aloud "We are ready."  
"Very well, I'm activating the chair. Try to relax" Dr. Rush advised her, then the metal shackles wrapped around her wrists and ankles and the bolts were born into her temples.  
After the procedure was activated Rush grabbed his radio and informed TJ.  
She appeared only a few minutes later (meanwhile Rush had unlocked the doors again) and stared in shock to the scene in front of her.  
"What did you do?!" she shouted and hurried towards Melody.  
"I just did what Col. Young was incapable to do. Making a decision" Rush replied impassive.  
Tamara felt for Melody's pulse, it was smooth and steady. "She's okay for now" she said and grabbed for her radio to inform Col. Young.  
Rush frowned, but he had guessed just that.  
The Col. arrived only a few minutes later.  
"Rush! What the hell you think you were doing!" he yelled, after TJ had assured him that the girl was fine at the moment.  
He was standing in front of Rush, but he was unimpressed by his blowup.  
"The well-being of Miss Hansen was at stake", he explained his action. "And since you're not capable of making a decision and moreover have some other, complete imbecile ideas, which are not viable, I thought, I'd do you a favour."  
Young's reaction to this statement wasn't completely unexpected for Nicholas, nevertheless he was shocked, when he found himself lying on the floor, after Young had punched him right in his face.  
"Everett!" Tamara shouted disbelievingly and hurried over to the Scot. His lip was bleeding and his head had banged on the floor.  
Young stood thunderstrucked, like a pillar of salt and his face expressed the shock about what he had done. He had lost his temper – again.  
"Everett, I need some compresses, go!" TJ's voice was cold as ice, but Young didn't hear her. He stepped closer to both of them and hunkered down beside them.  
"I'm sorry" he said contritely "That wasn't my intention."  
"Sure" Rush mumbled, "You've lost control again."  
"Everett" TJ hissed at him. "Go and fetch me some dressing material. Now!"  
This time her voice got through to him and he began to move.  
Tamara paid him no attention anymore and helped Rush in a sitting position. Her hand, with which she had supported his head, was smeared in blood.  
"Are you feeling dizzy?" she asked.  
"No" Rush answered and wiped over his burst lip.  
"Why did you do that?" Tamara asked.  
Rush shrugged his shoulders. "It was the only way to help both of them."  
At this moment they heared a noise coming from the chair.  
"Remain seated" TJ said and hurried over to Melody. She came just in time to prevent the girl slipping from the chair. She let her down and checked for her vital signs.  
In the meantime Rush had risen and was busy with the console.  
"Transfer was successful" he announced with a satisfied expression.  
"I told you to stay put" TJ ranted, but Rush ignored her. He stepped over to both women and asked (what TJ quite surprised) "Is she alright?"  
"I can tell you when she is awake again, after I could give her a close examination. Whatever, both of you belong to the infirmary."  
It took a few minutes until Young returned. He was carrying a first aid box. The medic almost whipped it out of his hands, opened it quickly and took out two large compresses, which she pressed on Rushs head.  
"Ouch!" he hissed, when his headache suddenly increased dramatically.  
"Press firmly and follow me. Everett, you carry Miss Hansen."  
Neither Young nor Rush dared to object. The Col. because he knew, he had made a mistake and TJ was with good reason moped with him, Rush, because he had got what he wanted and didn't want to provoke TJ unnecessarily.

Eventually they arrived at the far too well known walls (at least for Rush) of TJ's laid Melody back on her cot and looked over to Rush. His eye twitched, when he looked at him, and he clenched his fingers automatically.  
_He can be lucky I lost my temper only once_ , it came to his mind. He took a deep breath, loosened his fingers and stepped to the Scot.  
Rush looked a bit uneasy at the Col., which filled Young with satisfaction and the Scot made a step back.  
Young bent closer to him and said quietly "Rush, if anything happpens to the crew or the ship, which was caused by the A.I…"  
"Nothing will happen, Col." the scientist interrupted him confidently.  
"… then I'll punch you off this ship!" Young finished his sentence.  
Rush swallowed involuntarily, which Young noticed. He almost hoped that something would happen, so he could carry out his threat.  
Rush's corner of the mouth twitched but he managed to bring a contemptuous smile to his face and the Col. knew his threat wasn't completely ineffective. He turned away again and gave him some space.  
"Colonel!" TJ's voice was still incisive and Everett looked at her.  
"My patients need to rest. It would be better if you left now."  
Young gave Rush one last withering look, then he looked back to TJ.  
"I'll return tomorrow morning. Good night."  
She nodded shortly towards him and was thankful, that he accepted her expulsion. But she couldn't do anymore fighting right now. It was too late anyway and she had to take care of Rush's wound too, which had broken up again.  
"You know the procedure" she said when she returned with the disinfectant to Nicholas and pointed to the cot behind him. "Sit down."  
The scientiest was glad when the burning pain faded slowly and TJ had finished her work. He just wanted to stand up when TJ asked "And where do you think you want to go?"  
"Actually into my quarters to have some sleep" he answered suspiciously.  
"This is out of the question. You stay the night here."  
"Lt., I'm perfectly capable of sleeping in my own bed… and that much more comfortably."  
"Dr. Rush, you've tried my patience terribly" the young woman warned him. "You spend the night here." A very unpleasant thought crossed TJ's mind but she made sure not to say it loud. She was actually worried, that the Col. would pay Rush a visit in his quarters and get him off this ship.  
_No, Everett would never do such a thing_ , she rebuked herself. _But he was extremly furious…_  
Rush seemed to have read her mind because he joked "Are you afraid Col. Young is going to kill me that night if I stay alone in my quarters?"  
TJ gave him a withering look and pointed wordlessly to the cot.  
Rush sighed, but remaind silent and laid down.  
"You should apologize to Col. Young" TJ suggested.  
"He should thank me" he retorted immediately.  
"He is responsible for the crew, at least you should have given him some time to make a decision."  
The Scot sighed once more. "I am not wrong and you perfectly know, I would never jeopardize the ship."  
"And the crew neither of course" Tamara added a snide remark.  
"Miss Hansen is well and the A.I. causes her no pain anymore. A quick action was for her well-being."  
"Sometimes I really don't understand you, Dr. Rush" TJ said with a sigh. "It just seemed that you and Col. Young had found an arrangement and in the next moment you underminde his authority. Can't you trust him for once? He is not so incapable as you think and he really tries to make an effort with you. You're not that easy to handle too."  
The scientiest didn't answer.  
"At least you should apologize to him. Think about that. And now, try to find some sleep. Good night."  
She coverd him with a blanket, dimmed the light and left him alone.


	15. Insights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thanks so much for correcting the last chaps, Eric!_

As planned, Eli entered the infirmary the next morning but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Dr. Rush lying there, a white bandage around his head and still sleeping. Aside from that he also had a peculiar swelling on his jaw and his seemed to have bled from his lip. Tamara came towards him and beckoned him by waving with her hand to follow her to the back, where they could talk.  
"Good morning."  
"TJ, why is Dr. Rush here again?" Eli asked without greeting her.  
The young woman didn't blame him. At first she considered if she should tell what had happened, but it wouldn't take long until everyone would know. At least the part regarding the A.I. and Destiny.  
"Dr. Rush brought Miss Hansen to the repository last night, but without the permission or knowledge of Col. Young and transferred the A.I. to the systems of the Destiny."  
"Is Melody okay?" he asked at once.  
"Yes, she's fine. She's just sleeping."  
"And why is Dr. Rush lying here with a bandaged head?" Eli asked suspiciously.  
"He… fell in such an unfortunate way, that his wound broke open again" Tamara tried to skate around what had happened.  
Eli stopped short, then he understood. "I guess, after Col. Young hit him?"  
TJ looked aside and didn't answer. She didn't need to. After all it wasn't the first time both man had had a fight and the marks in Rush's face were obvious.  
"I'm glad Rush did it" Eli said.  
"Eli!" Tamara sounded indignant.  
"But it's the truth. If Melody and Dr. Rush argue, that the A.I. is friendly, the Col. should just trust both."  
"Maybe he could have done that, but the way, Dr. Rush did what he did, wasn't the right one."  
"Well, Col. Young already took revenge."  
TJ decided to change the subject. Neither men had done the right thing in her opinion and it irked her, that everybody just blamed Everett. But since it was Eli, she wasn't too surprised.  
"How about you? Did you sleep well? How's the skin feeling?" she asked.  
"Everything's perfectly fine. It still a bit sensitive, but that's okay."  
"Good. Then watch yourself the next time and as far as I'm concerned you can go back to duty."  
"Yeah, fine, thanks" Eli said a bit less enthusiastic. Undecided he looked again for Melody and Rush, but then thought it would be best to leave now.  
"See you TJ. And thanks… for everything."  
"Eli!" Tamara stopped him. The young man gave her a questioning look and she said hesitantly "Shall I inform you when Melody wakes up?"  
He thought about her offer for a second, then said "That would be nice. Thank you." Then he left and headed to the bridge. Since Rush was still with TJ he could work there for himself.  
"Eli! Wait please!" another voice from behind came and he thought about simply ignoring her. But when he looked back over his shoulder and saw Chloe's sad face, he didn't have the heart to walk away.  
"What?" he asked brusquely.  
Chloe had stopped in front of him and looked at him. "Eli, did I do something to you? Why are you so curt with me?"  
"Do you really have to ask?" he burst out.  
Chloe was confused like never before. "Yes! Because I haven't the slightest idea what is up with you!"  
"I overheard you talking to Matt, about how very unnerving I am to you and that you're just too cowardly to tell the truth. You don't have to pretend anymore, I'd mean anything to you. And don't bother, I won't bother you anymore with my presence."  
Eli walked away and left a completely stunned Chloe behind, who was so shocked, that she was lost for words.  
His heart hammered in his chest, it hadn't been his intention to freak out, but he was so injured from the last series of events that he couldn't bear it at the moment that anyone was lying to him. And also if he won't admit it to himself, he was still worried about Rush and Melody. It had been pure luck, that Melody wasn't hurt during the first accident in the pylon and she had been able to revive Nicholas. Eli didn't want to think about, but he really had lost Rush for some minutes. The mere thought of it was awful for him and it permanently came back to his mind. He stopped and rubbed his hand over his eyes. The new skin in his face was still unfamiliar soft and it remembered him, how lucky he had been, respectively he could thank Melody for it. He owed that girl twice.  
A hand was put on his shoulder from behind and he turned around. Chloe was standing there again, but this time her facial expression was serious and hard.  
"Eli, I do not know which talk you have heard, but it is not fair to accuse me with such things and then walk away. I care about you, you are my best friend and you are not unnerving. I'd like to know what you think you have heard. You owe that to me!"  
The words made Eli doubtful. Did he get something wrong maybe? He swallowed and nodded eventually. Then he told her about the conversation he had heard, shortly after Matt had returned from the planet. Chloes face brightened and she even had to smile.  
"Eli, please believe me, I wasn't talking about you" she explained.  
"Not? But… who else could you have meant?" The young man felt his cheeks burning.  
"It wasn't about you, really. Do you remember when I visited my mother two weeks ago on earth?"  
Eli nodded.  
"My parents had chosen years ago the perfect man for me. His name is Stephen and we've known each other since we were kids. His father worked close with my dad and they were friends in private. They must have hoped, that Stephen and I… well, someday be married and my mother surprised me that day, that she had invited him for diner. He's an idiot and unnerves me with his arrogant demeanor. But out of consideration for my mother I said nothing. She doesn't have anyone else who is close to her… and I swear I have talked to Matt only about Stephen." Chloe smiled.  
"I… really?" Eli was speechless and his cheeks were still glowing.  
"I take friendships very serious, Eli, and believe me, you are my best friend. I would never say such things about you, most of all not behind your back."  
"Oh my… I'm… I'm SO sorry, Chloe" he apologized embarrassed. "I should have known better, but this day was just horrible, Dr. Rush…" _No_ , he bite back the rest of the sentence, _I'm not going to make the same mistake twice._ "It was just a horrible day and when I heard that… I really thought, you were talking about me. Can you forgive me?" He looked at her deeply regretting and Chloe answered him, by simply hugging him.  
"I was so worried about you" she told him. "You were so badly burned and TJ thought you were going to be disfigured for the rest of your life… I'm so happy you're as good as new."  
"I have to thank Melody for that" he replied.  
"I know. Where did she come from? I never saw her on the ship before."  
"She's a bit shy and avoids people. I just met her by accident" he explained.  
"She seems to be nice."  
"She is."  
"You… really like her, don't you?" she guessed and smiled at him.  
Eli's face grew a bit redder and Chloe said "I'm happy for you. Does she likes you too?"  
"Uhm.. well… I… I don't know… uhm… did you get, that Dr. Rush is in the infirmary again?" he tried to change the subject. He felt uncomfortable talking about his feelings towards Melody and Chloe accepted it by asking "No, did he overdo things again?"  
"Col. Young hit him, but don't tell anyone."  
"Oh? Why that?"  
Eli explained what had happened and was extremely happy, that he had been wrong about Chloe and she had forgiven him. If only things would work out between him and Rush again… but that would take a long time, until Eli could get over this humiliation.

"It's back, Nick." Gloria had to swallow hard, until she could speak on and looked down. "The cancer is back."  
"No, no! Not again. We wanted to…" Rush swallowed too and tears started to blink in his eyes.  
"I am so sorry." Gloria's eyes were filled with tears as well and Nicholas buried his face in her neck. Tenderly she wrapped her arms around him. Both were crying by now. Melody, who was standing besides them, felt her heart break. The setting blurred and the bridge of the Destiny appeared.  
This time Dr. Rush sat in the chair in the middle and looked sceptical towards Eli, who sat alone at his console and seemed to be pretty absent minded. Again the scene blurred shortly and now Rush was standing behind Eli, saying "Eli, you're far more intelligent than the others and I rely on you helping me. And even if you don't believe it, I appreciate your work as well as I appreciate you but please do try to concentrate on your work again."  
Melody saw that Eli grew pale and he asked "You've heard everything, haven't you?"  
Confused she looked at Rush.  
"Yes" he just said very quietly.  
Again the scene changed. Rush was lying on a cot in the infirmary and Eli sat beside him. The scientist groaned softly and seemed to run a high fever, because Eli changed damp cloths on his forehead, his arms and calves.  
"You're like a father to me, please Rush, don't leave me."  
Suddenly Melody understood. That's what was in the air between them. Rush had heard every word although Eli didn't want to. He had been desperate and it slipped him and Rush of course hadn't reacted like Eli had hoped for… more, like he had needed him to.  
Again everything blurred and this time Melody found herself together with Rush and a woman in a wheelchair in a small room. The woman was connected to a respirator.  
_Amanda Perry_ , she knew and waited, what would happen now. Rush was sitting on the edge of the bed, his face buried in his hands. His shoulders were shrugging slightly and Melody knew, that he was crying. It seemed to have broken Dr. Perry's heart too, but as a result of her paralysis she wasn't even able to touch Nicholas, let alone hug him.  
"Nick, it's alright, just cry" she said very softly and maneuvered her wheelchair closer to him.  
"I miss her so much" Melody could hear him saying between his sobbing.  
"I know, Nick. I'm here for you, if you need me. Mourn her, but don't lose yourself in grief. This is not what Gloria would want." Dr. Perry's voice was soothing like a warm summer rain and Melody wished for a moment, she would have been there for her too, when Gwendoly had left her.  
"I died with her, Mandy. I love her so badly. I don't know how to live on without her."  
Melody had tears in her eyes. That this man had loved someone so deeply…  
If someone didn't know Rush before Gloria's death, no one had even thought he had the ability to love someone so deep and with all his heart. She was getting more and more the picture why Rush became the man he was today. She felt the urge to put her arms around him but her hand slid through him, as if he was a ghost.  
_What is that?_ She wondered. Before she could give it some more thoughts the scene changed again.  
They were somewhere outside, Melody could see only sand and stones, it was dark and the sky was flooded with billions of blinking stars and she could also see a nebula. Rush kneeled in front of her in the dust, tears streaming down his face and he had blood under his nose. Generally he looked the worse for wear.  
_What happened to him?_ Melody asked herself. Particularly since this couldn't be very long ago because the scientist wore the uniform he always wore on away missions and his hair and beard were as long as they are now. She turned around and saw a damaged alien vessel lying on some rocks, obviously crashed a long time ago. Suddenly it came to her, where they were.  
This has to be the planet where Rush had gotten into a rock slide and Young presumed him dead. But nothing here looks like a rock slide…  
Melody became suspicious. Why had Young told them it was a rock slide? Why did he lie? The truth hit her the split of a second later and let her tumble. Her eyes widened in shock and she gasped for breath.  
"He abandoned you on purpose!" she said aloud. Of course Nicholas couldn't hear her. Melody hunkered down by his side. Tears were still running down his cheeks and he was completely whacked.  
The knowledge, that the Destiny was gone and Young had left him to die must have been horrific.  
"Gloria…" she heard his voice so softly "Gloria, I can't go on any longer. Help me to let it end here. Please take me to you…" he whimpered and fell on his side in the dust where he simply stayed.  
"Dr. Rush, no!" Melody sobbed and fell down on her knees beside him, but she still couldn't touch him. "Dr. Rush… NICK! Don't leave me, please!"  
"Melody!" TJ stood beside the bed of the girl, who had suddenly started to cry for Dr. Rush and had tears in her eyes. But she was still asleep. Rush, who was still lying with the bandage around his head on his cot heard the screams as well, got up and walked over to her.  
"What's up with her?" he asked the medic.  
"I would image, she is having a nightmare which includes you. Maybe she's just come to terms with the situation in the pylon, when you had a asystole and she had to revive you?"  
"This would make sense" Rush agreed. Meanwhile TJ tried to wake Melody up and finally she was successful. The girl stopped shouting and opened her eyes slowly.  
"Miss Hansen, it was just a nightmare" Tamara explained to calm her down. "And Dr. Rush is fine, see for yourself!" She pointed to the Scot, who was standing beside her and also looked at her.  
"He abandoned you and you wanted to give up" the words slipped out of her mouth and she sobbed again.  
Rush went pale. He knew at once what Melody was talking about, but that was impossible. No one knew about that except for Young and him. And he was absolutely sure, that the Col. had told no one what happened. At least not about what had really happened. And concerning his short period of time of despondency and desperation, he definitely had told no one. Yes, for some time he had given up and wanted to die there, but then he regained new strength when he figured out how to get into the ship and used it as shelter.  
"I beg your pardon?" Tamara asked, who didn't know what she was talking about.  
Before Melody could say something, Rush said "It was just a nightmare, Miss Hansen" and gave her an intensive look. "Try to calm down again. Nothing has happened." He stared at her still with this knowing look and Melody, who looked at him almost the same way, understood. She nodded eventually and tried to calm down.  
"Yes… I… I am sorry. It was just a stupid dream" she admitted and took some deep breaths.  
TJ's eyes were wandering skeptically between Rush and Melody, but then she shruged her shoulders. Whatever both were talking about, or rather, were not talking about, she wouldn't get to know and apparently it was none of her business. So she accepted that little secret of both and stayed silent.  
"Very good, take deep breaths and in a few minutes you'll feel better. Dr. Rush" she addressed the Scot "thanks for your help, you can now return to your cot again and rest."  
Rush gave Melody one last look and she knew, what he wanted to say. This was their little secret. She nodded and Nicholas was relieved. He went back to his cot, laid down and closed his eyes. His thoughts brought him back to those day, when Young had abandoned him and his so carefully suppressed feelings returned.  
Melody looked surreptitiously at Rush. She couldn't believe what she just had learned. Sure, with some actions Dr. Rush had made himself not very popular, but what Young had done was nothing more than a cold-blooded attempt on Rush's life. She could see, that he was thinking about the same like she did, only that he was the one, who had go through it. She had only been an observer for a short time. Around the region of his mouth she saw he was twitching slightly. He seemed to fight against his emotions. She looked for TJ, but the medic was nowhere to see.  
"Dr. Rush" Melody whispered because she couldn't bear it to see how he was suffering from the emotions.  
He opened his eyes and gave her a questioning look.  
Melody's lips trembled and she didn't know, what to say.  
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" her voice broke and Rush just shook his head briefly before he looked away again. Melody felt even more worse than before. Her throat felt constricted and she took some deep breaths to calm down again.  
"Lt. Johansen?" she called not too loud for the medic. Tamara appeared within seconds.  
"Is something wrong?" she asked worried but Melody shook her head.  
"May I return to my quarters and stay there?" she asked and looked at TJ so pleadingly, that she considered her request.  
"Please" Melody added "I promise I'll do everything you say, but please let me go." Her eyes slid to Nicholas again who pretended, to hear nothing of the conversation.  
Tamara felt that something, what had to do with Rush, really bothered her and she also had noticed the desperation in her voice.  
TJ sighed, but nodded. "Very well. I'll check your vital signs once more and then you may return to your quarters – for now."  
"Thank you so much, Lt." Melody said clearly relieved, whereby she still looked at Rush.  
"But you won't go on your own. I'll ask Eli to escort you. He wanted to know anyway when you're awake again. I'm sure it'll be his pleasure."  
_No, that is not necessary_ , Melody had almost said, but she bit it back. If she just could get out here she was even willing to accept Eli's company. It won't be more than a few minutes, then she could be alone eventually. She couldn't bare to see Nicholas, knowing, what he was going through at the moment just because of her, since she had brought back the memory. It would also be better for him if she would be gone.  
"Thanks, Lt." she said instead again and after TJ had checked her vital signs she asked Eli to pick her up.

It took less than five minutes until he arrived. Dr. Rush caught his eye at first and he hesitated. He didn't look very well, his face was oddly pinched. He wanted to say something, but TJ said that moment "Eli, thank you for coming. Please walk Miss Hansen to her quarters, she has to lay down and rest. I'll check on her later."  
"No problem" he answered and turned to Melody, who was already sitting up in her bed and attempted to slid down from the cot. At her temples Eli could still see the circular marks the bolts of the ancient chair had left, but which were cleaned and treated by TJ. Soon they would be disappear. However the girl appeared a bit weak and sad, so he stepped closer and supported her by holding her at the upper arm.  
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly and felt, that she had leant herself on him.  
"Yes, I'd just like to go into my quarters. Thanks, Eli." She didn't say anymore. She looked again at Rush, who had still closed his eyes, and left slowly, her arm linked with Eli's, the infirmary.  
Tamara looked after them and was glad, Eli were there to care about Melody. She was in good hands and later she would check on her. Now her eyes switched to Rush and she stepped closer to him.  
"Dr. Rush?" she asked quietly.  
He opened his eyes. "Yes, Lieutenant?" he replied very softly, what TJ let frown.  
"Do you still have a strong headache?"  
"No."  
"Do you want to return to your quarters as well?" she offered, although she had liked it better to keep him here. But she also had noticed his agonized expression and she wanted to give him the opportunity to be alone.  
"Yes, thank you" he answered and stood up slowly.  
"I'll accompany you to your quarters" the medic said and a short time later Nicholas laid on his bed and was alone.  
He was very thankful that TJ had let him go and he stopped trying to hold back the bad memories, which bothered him so much the last half an hour.  
"You should talk to her, Nick." Gloria was sitting on the edge of his bed and looked at him warmhearted.  
Nicholas wasn't surprised that much to see her, the Destiny seemed to have a sense for the needs of her crew and for Nicholas it wasn't the first time Gloria appeared to him at a point he really needed her.  
Seeing her and hearing her voice broke the last barrier in him and he just controlled himself not to fell into her arms. But he felt tears again in his eyes. The happenings of the last weeks were too much and he had reached a point, where he couldn't suppress them anymore. His near death on the planet, Eli's confession and his own inability just to tell the boy that he was touched and that he also cared for him like for a son, the overwhelming contact with the A.I., his fight with Young, the awareness that Miss Hansen knew things about him that he would never have told anyone and finally the memories to the planet, when he had longed to die. Now Gloria was here and could let go. Nicholas cried.  
"It's okay, Nick." Gloria's warm and calm voice was like heart-balm and he stretched out his hand for her. He saw her laying her hand above his, closed his eyes and imagined actually feeling the touch.  
"Nick, you really should talk to Melody" Gloria said after a while, when his sobs had faded a bit.  
"No" he just said. Gloria smiled softly. "Do it, Nick, I believe, it would do good to both of you." Her husband didn't answer but based on his continuous calm becoming breathing she knew, he was slowly falling asleep by his exhaustion.


	16. Reunions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thanks to Eric... again..._
> 
> * * *

When Nicholas woke up again Gloria was gone but instead Lt Johansen was sitting by his side.  
"Hello" she greeted him. "Are you feeling better now?"  
Rush looked around in surprise until it came back to him, that TJ had released him to his quarters. "Yes" he replied and sat up.  
Tamara took the opportunity to check his head. Carefully she removed the bandage and stroke his hair aside gently.  
"Hm, looks good again. Are you still experiencing great pain or are you feeling dizzy?"  
"No."  
"Good" TJ said and applied the bandage again. "You were lucky, you came within a whisker of a concussion of the brain."  
"Who do I have to thank for this…" he murmured, but Tamara heard it.  
"You weren't that innocent" she commented.  
Rush didn't answer.  
"Let's just hope I won't see you again in the infirmary for some time."  
"I agree with that" he said.  
"Very well. You're supposed to stay in bed for another two days, no visits to the bridge, no calculations, no work and then you should be over it.  
Rush frowned again, two days were clearly too long for him.  
"But only" TJ warned him "If you do as I say."  
He sighed and gave in for a second time.  
TJ had to laugh. "Oh come on, two days are not that big of a request. Your wound looks good and if you give it some time, it'll heal faster and you can return to the bridge and chide your people."  
"I don't do such things" Rush flared, but TJ put a hand on his shoulder.  
"I was just kidding" she said peaceable "I know you just want your team to bring out the best of them."  
The scientist grimaced, he might have deserved this small teasing.  
"You may have some limited visitors. Shall I inform someone to drop by?" she offered.  
His answer came at once and maybe too often practised because he would never say anything else. "No thank you, I'm fine without company."  
TJ was a bit disappointed. She had hoped, after all what had happened, he maybe would ask for Eli's company but obviously she was wrong.  
"Very well. Here" she turned around and took a bowl with food from his nightstand. "I'll bring some more later. Water is sitting on the table. Eat up and relax. See you later."  
TJ stood up and left him alone.  
She had barely left the room when Rush put the bowl aside again. He wasn't hungry right now, he had too many things to think about. Especially Gloria's request that he should talk to Melody.  
_That wasn't the real Gloria_ , he said to himself. _And why should I talk to Miss Hansen? About what?_  
However, Rush was curious, how could she know what had happened on the planet. _And what else does she know?_ He thought. He was getting more and more uncomfortable and he realized, that he had to talk to the young woman. He wanted to know what she knew. He admittedly believed, she would not tell anyone his secrets, but he had to be sure.

The rather long way back to Melody's quarters had been silent. Eli didn't dare to start a conversation because he feared Melody would break out in tears. So he just thought over and over again what might have happened. When he had seen her the last time she had been fine! At least TJ had said so.  
They arrived at her quarters eventually and Eli opened the door. He lead Melody to her bed and the girl sat down with a sigh of relief.  
"Thanks, Eli" she said. "I'll be fine alone now."  
"Do you need anything? May I get you something to eat or drink?" The young man felt uneasy to leave her alone.  
Melody shook her head. "No, I don't need anything. Please don't get mad with me, but I prefer to be alone."  
Eli swallowed and then nodded. "Okay, but if there's anything wrong you tell me. I'm back in a jiffy."  
The girl gave him a brief smile, said "of course" and laid down on her bed. Eli took it as a hint to leave. He gave her a last look and left the quarters.  
When the doors had closed with a dull sound, Melody clutched a cushion and buried her face into it. Over and over again she saw the complete and desperate longing for death scientist in front of her, how he laid on this dusty planet, deprived of all hopes and cried. She also cried, over him and with him.  
She felt so close to him like to no one else and at the time she knew, it would be better, to avoid him in the future. It would be better for both of them. The memories of Rush, which the A.I. had sent to her before she left her, were prevalent at the moment and almost torturous for her.  
"Melody!" A voice right beside her made her jump and when she lifted her head, her face still wet of tears, she saw her sister Gwendolyn sitting on her bed.  
"Gwen!" she bursted out completely stunned at looked at her.  
"I am not Gwendolyn, I just chose to look like her" she answered and Melody narrowed her eys slightly. Then she seemed to understand what this was all about.  
"You are the A.I., aren't you?" she guessed.  
Gwendolyn nodded. "I hope, my appearance causes not too much pain for you, I wanted to take the shape of someone familiar to you."  
"No, that's okay" she sobbed, wiped over her eyes and blew her nose. "Actually it is good I can see my sister again. But what shall I call you?" Melody's voice was calmer than she actually felt. She had heard that Destiny was able to generate illusions to her crew, but until now she never seen one. Besides, this was obviously not the ship, but the A.I. from the planet. That she had of all persons chose her dead sister created a huge lump in her throat. On one hand she was lucky to see her, on the other hand she knew, it wasn't her Gwendolyn, and that made it harder for her. But she realized the well meant intentions of the A.I. and suppressed her feeling for now. Besides it helped her to push the memories of Dr. Rush away.  
"What would you like to call me?" the A.I. answered with another question.  
Melody shruged her shoulders. "May I call you just Gwen?" she asked.  
Her sister smiled. "I would like that. But remember, I just look like her. Unfortunately I am not your sister."  
"I won't forget that" Melody said deeply moved and then she asked, to distract herself "Are you feeling well in the ship's system?"  
"It's even better than in the obelisk" she said. "Destiny welcomed me and she interacts with me if I want to. She had shown me so many things and what most important is, I am not alone anymore. I can see you and visit you whenever I want, provided you want to see me."  
This time Melody had tears of joy and relief in her eyes. She had been really worried if the A.I. was in good hands with Destiny and if the transfer itself had been a success. Seeing her so happy and near her made her lucky as well.  
"I'm so happy for you" she said honestly relieved and her facial expression confirmed her words. Gwendolyn smiled. "Thank you, without you and your music, which woke me up in the first place, I'd still be alone."  
"Gwen…" Melody's expression became sad when she changed to the subject which her bothered right now. "The memories of Dr. Rush, which you gave me…" she had to think how to say what she wanted to ask. It was difficult because she wasn't sure herself what exactly she wanted to ask the A.I.  
Gwendolyn's smile vanished when she saw Melody looking so sad. "Are you still in pain?" she asked at once. "Normally this shouldn't be cause I'm not in you anymore."  
"No, no" Melody rejected "That's not it, it's just… the memories of Nicholas are so sad, it hurts so much to know how he is really suffering, but they are so strong…" Her face became twisted with pain by the strain of the emotions. "Do they stay so strong or will this some time stop eventually?" she found the right words.  
"I am sorry" Gwen said comforting. "When I was connected to Dr. Rush for this short time, I could feel that he is capable of very deep and passionate emotions. What kind of memories I received from him, was nothing I could control. But as time is passing, it should fade. You by yourself are capable of feeling deeply, that's why you're suffering so extremly for and with him, but if you take your time and gain some distance, they won't stay that strong."  
"I just can't believe that Col Young left him there to die" Melody got to the point, which really caused her stomachache.  
"You really like him, do you?" Gwen broached the subject again.  
"Yes" she admitted, "I do. I even think…" but at this point she fell silent. Instead she took her pillow in her arms again and curled up on her bed again.  
"I think, you are not yet absolutely sure about your feelings for him" Gwendolyn said softly. "There is a special connection between you and him, one, none of you had yet realized. But you will figure it out. And now I have to go again, Destiny calls for me."  
Gwendolyn was gone the next second and Melody laid on her bed, her heart beating. Gwen was right maybe, she had to figure out what Nick really meant to her. But even if she would find out, it wasn't relevant, when the scientist even rejected Eli, she had no chance to come ever close to him.  
She had to think back to the moment, when she had leant against his chest and how safe she felt in his arms. She was now completely lost regarding her feelings. At this moment there were just two emotions coming on top of her – sadness and loneliness. She buried her face in the pillow again and cried her pain into it.

Eli had spent the rest of the day on the bridge until his shift was over. Afterwards he made his way to Chloe's quarters. He still had a heavy conscience and wanted to apologize once more. To his disappointment Matt opened the door.  
"Eli, have you recovered?" he greeted him joyfully, cause since Eli was awake Matt hadn't had the chance to pay him a visit.  
"Yeah, I fine. I wanted to talk to Chloe, is she here?" he asked and looked past Matt into their quarters.  
"No, she's helping TJ with the inventory. At least she told me so. Dr. Rush and you seemed to have depleted the supplies pretty thoroughly." Matt gave him a friendly clap on his shoulder which should obviously tell him, that he was just joking.  
"Well, that's what comes of it, if Dr. Rush finds some alien technology" Eli quipped back and grinned. "I'll be off again. See you."  
"Good to have you back again, Eli" Matt dismissed him and closed the door. Eli stopped undecided. Should he go to the infirmary? Surely Chloe wouldn't have the time to talk to him right now, but maybe he could give both ladies a hand and he also could check for Dr. Rush. The last part he denied in fact to himself but he wanted to know how he was.  
A few minutes later he had arrived and entered. Dr. Rush wasn't there anymore. Eli felt disappointment, but walked in nevertheless.  
"TJ? Chloe?" he called for them.  
His best friend looked out behind a divider, quite surprised.  
"Eli, what are you doing here?" she asked. "Is everything alright with you?"  
"Sure, actually I wanted to pay you a visit. Matt told me, you would be helping TJ" he explained.  
"TJ made two house calls, checking for Melody and Dr. Rush. I'm busy right now checking the supplies and put them on a list."  
"Can I help you?" Eli offered at once.  
"I'd really appreciate that, but I'm finished in a minute. But you wanted to talk to me?"  
Eli supported himself at a table besides her and said "Yes, I wanted to ask if you'd like to go to the mess and have something to eat. Maybe… we could talk a bit?"  
Chloe looked at him, smiling. Of course she knew what had brought him here, but she had forgiven him already. And that's, what she told him once more.  
"It would be my pleasure. And don't bother about the small misunderstanding… it's okay, Eli. I am not angry with you. I probably would have reacted in the same way. I'm just glad we could sort it out. You are and always will be my best friend."  
"Thanks" he murmured touched. "I'm such a jerk…"  
"Eli Wallace!" Chloe said pretending sounding severe "Stop talking like that. You're not. Can you please hand me the box from over there?" she asked and pointed towards a small box in a cabinet.  
"Sure." No more words were needed on this subject. Eli was thankful that Chloe wasn't mad and his feelings of guilt faded, but stayed. But he would do everything in his power to make it up to her. He helped her quickly to list the content of the last box, then both returned everything on it's place. Chloe put the properly recorded list on the table and both left the infirmary cheerfully chatting heading towards the mess.  
The vacationers on the planet had found fruit, vegetables and caught edible animals so Airman Becker was able to serve a feast, made of the last leftovers. The next group would hopefully bring more, but it would take a few days until they'd return.  
So Eli and Chloe enjoyed every single bit and after a while Matt joined them. It became a snugly triple circle with much of laughter and the latest planet-gossip. Eli was so glad to have his friends back, he completely forgot about Melody. Not until later, when TJ appeared in the mess as well to have diner, he remembered with a touch of remorse Melody and also Dr. Rush.  
"TJ!" Chloe called at her "Come here and have a seat!"  
This suited Eli and when the medic had barely sat down he asked after both.  
"They're doing fine" TJ informed him. "They were well-behaved, stayed in their quarters and rested. Even Dr. Rush."  
"When is Dr. Rush fit for duty again?" he asked.  
"The day after tomorrow I think."  
"And Melody?"  
"If she likes, she can start working tomorrow again" she said.  
"That's… good" Eli answered and drifted off in his own thoughts.  
"May I join you?" Col. Young's voice interrupted them. He was standing by the table and gave especially TJ a pleading look.  
"Of course, Col." Chloe said at once and all of them made some room for him to sit down.  
Eli wasn't particularly delighted about Young's presence. His talk to Chloe had lightened his mood such that he did not even feel so disappointed about Rush like in the beginning. Besides that he was mad about Young because he had hit Rush once again. Of course he kept these thoughts for himself, but he wasn't participating the conversation anymore.  
All of them stayed for another half hour until Young addressed TJ. "Lt. Johansen, may I have a talk with you in private in my office?"  
TJ kept her facial expression neutral but since it was the wish of her CO she answered "Yes, Col. Excuse us, please" she said to the three other crewmates and followed Young out of the mess hall.  
"This was our cue" Matt said and looked at his watch. "It's late and we should go to bed."  
"Yes, we really should" Eli said and added a "Good night".  
The three of them split up and headed to their quarters.  
Eli, who had still a remorse about Melody because he simply had forgotten her over Chloe, intended to pay her a visit the next morning and take breakfast along.

When the doors had closed behind TJ and Everett, the Col. gave his medic an apologizing look. "TJ, I am really sorry I lost my temper. I hope, this won't happen again."  
"For one thing it should not happen again and second, you shouldn't tell me but Dr. Rush" she replied.  
Young lowered his head and looked to the floor. "Yes, I am aware of that. To be honest, I don't know yet what to do with Rush. He endangered us all and I can only hope, that he isn't wrong with his assumption. But that was not why I asked you to come here. I wanted to apologize to you, that I lost my temper."  
"Why?" TJ asked honestly surprised and at his gesture she took a seat.  
"It is very important to me that our relationship stays as it is. I don't want you to think I mutate into a bully. I admit, I have never met a man like Rush, whom I absolutely can't handle. I just don't know what to do with him. Lock him up, beat him up, leave him alone… He always does, what he wants regardless of the consequences. He's stubborn."  
While he talked he had started to walk around like a tiger in a cage.  
"Everett" TJ said after a moment, "I know Dr. Rush isn't easy to handle and as for his manners…" she thought a moment about an adequate paraphrase, "surely he has slight deficits. But I also have seen his other side. When the pylon fell down, he shielded Eli with his own body which had definitely protected him from worse. He is even considerate of me, although it may often not look that way. I am sure he would never do anything to harm the crew on purpose. Certainly, he made a mistake by taking Miss Hansen to the chair without your permission and separating her from the A.I., but I have to say, he most likely saved her life with that action."  
Everett still paced around, thoughtfully and in silence.  
"I won't come to his defense, I simply want to point out, that he is concerned as well about the well-being of the ship and its crew" she put the ship at the first place on purpose. "He just has a different way to show us. It may be a balancing act, but I trust him. He has saved us so often. You two just to have to find a way together, this would be helpful to all of us. And honestly, if you beat him up he most likely will do the exact opposite of what you want."  
Hearing her last two sentences Young had stopped pacing around. Now he hammered his fist onto the table. "Damn it, this man is such a lot of work" he murmured.  
TJ smiled. "You'll find a way. Didn't he carve those chess figures a short time ago? Why don't you go and ask for a game? At the same time you can have a nice chat with him." Around TJ's corner of her mouth it twitched in amusement and Young sighed.  
"Yes, maybe I should try that. The trouble is, he'll win every damn game."  
Now the young woman had to laugh. "He's not invincible!"  
Everett had to smile, too. "Very well, I'll ask him."  
TJ stood up and stopped close in front of Everett. For a moment both saw in the eyes of their counterpart. Everett's eyes were lost in hers and very slowly his face came closer and closer to hers.  
TJ hemmed and made a step backwards. "It's getting late, I'd better be off to bed." Her words broke the spell and only now he realized, what he was about to do and nearly had done. Quickly he made a step back too and said a bit frantic "Of course, thank you for the talk. Good night."  
TJ looked at him for a moment, her lips slightly opened, then she turned around and left the office. After the door had closed Young swiped over his face and let himself fall down on a chair.  
_Just keep your hands off her_ , he warned himself. He might have lost Emily and he doesn't wanted to ruin the relationship between him and TJ as well. For this he liked her too much. He stayed for another few minutes, then went to his quarters to have some sleep as well.


	17. Private Talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credits for this last chapter (finally...) goes to Eric. Thanks for looking it over! I really hope the next story won't take as long as this one (almost a YEAR!) and there'll be only one Beta-Reader involved instead of four.

Melody sat on a chair next to Nicholas and both were listening to the soft strains of the violin, which Gloria held tenderly in her hands and coaxed the loveliest sounds out of. Nick had closed his eyes, a contented smile on his face and his head nodded slightly to the rhythm. Melody was happy because he was happy and closed her eyes as well, to concentrate completely to the music. Suddenly she heard three dull beats like from the large bass drum of a drum set, which dissonantly ruined the composition. Melody opened her eyes again, but neither Nicholas nor Gloria seemed to have heard anything. Then she could hear it again, this time much louder and she woke up with a start. Her heart was racing and she realized, that she must been dreaming. The beats were no drum but somebody outside her door.  
"Wait!" she called still groggy, ran her hands absentmindedly through her hair, climed out the bed and opened the door.  
"Jesus! Are you alright? I was about to call TJ when you didn't react", Eli babbled as he put away his radio.  
"What? Why?" Melody was confused. "What time is it?" she asked and stepped aside to let Eli in, which was actually not her intention.  
"It's past 1100 hours, I was worried because you didn't react. Here" he went on talking "I brought something to eat and drink."  
Melody wiped over her eyes and tried to collect her thoughts. She blocked Eli, who was talking something about vacation and foodstuffs, out for a moment and concentrated on yesterday evening. The A.I. in the shape of her sister had paid her a visit, the memories of Dr. Rush had haunted her and she had cried. This probably explained why her head felt so heavy and her nose was swollen. Later, when she was already half asleep, she had noticed that Lt Johansen had come in to check on her for a moment. Then the dreams returned. Altogether unfamiliar memories of Dr. Rush, which had bothered her. No surprise, she was so tired. She looked at Eli, who had quietened in the meantime and looked at her oddly.  
"I am sorry, I'm not fully awake yet" she felt obliged to explain herself and sat down on the edge of her bed again.  
"Have a seat, Eli" she offered and the young man sat down beside her.  
"Are you okay?" he asked.  
"Yes, I've just had a rough night. Sorry."  
"Would you like something to eat?" Eli offered her a bowl, but Melody shook her head. "No thanks, I'm not hungry. But I'll try it later" she added quickly because Eli looked a bit disappointed. "It's very kind you thought of me. How is Dr. Rush?"  
"He's fine, TJ says, he can go back to work tomorrow." Talking about Rush Eli suddenly was reserved, which maybe nobody had noticed, but since Melody knew, what had happened between them, she felt it. Hesitantly she put her hand on his, which made Eli to look at her with wide eyes.  
"Eli, I am sure Dr. Rush really likes you, even more, than you may think." Melody gave him a serious look so he would knew, she wouldn't say this without thinking.  
Eli's face grew slightly red. He thought it curious that Melody seemed to know something about this and he felt uncomfortable.  
"I am not sure why you would say something like that, but I really don't care what Dr. Rush thinks of me" he said and his face grew even more red.  
"Look Eli, I can't tell you why I am sure, that it's even very important to you, what Nicholas it thinking about you and if he likes you, but I can assure you, you're family to him. Just please, don't judge him because he can't tell you his real feelings, he has his reasons. I just want for both of you, to feel better again."  
She had spoken in such a fervent and distraught way that Eli simply had to believe every single word. Of course he was a bit curious as to how she knew of this and he was sure too that Dr. Rush hadn't said anything. This wasn't his way. But her words unravelled a knot in him. And when he had fully realized, what Melody had shared with him, he felt relieved and happy. His face expressed it all and he didn't know what to say.  
"Please treat him as usual, will you? I know he is sorry that he hurt you, but he just can't help it. In this regard I ask you to trust me and…" she was interrupted by another knock at her door.  
Quickly she pulled her hand back and stood up, to open the door. She thought it would be TJ who would check on her and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Dr. Rush instead.  
Eli was at least as surprised as Melody and got up from the bed. Both stared at the scientist, who was getting uncomfortable by now. Melody recovered at first.  
"Dr. Rush, please, come in." She made an inviting gesture with her hand but Nicholas eyes stayed on Eli and he didn't move. Both men just looked at each other and for some seconds no one moved. No one talked. Melody's eyes slid from Rush to Eli and back and she didn't know what she should do. Rush made the decision for her by clearing his throat and saying "Obviously I am interrupting. I'll be back later." He turned to leave but Eli's voice held him back.  
"No, I was just about to leave." To Melody he said "If you need anything, call me, okay?"  
Melody nodded and Eli left her quarters. Just as he was about to pass Rush he smiled at him and said "It's quite boring without you on the bridge. See to it, that TJ finds you fit for duty again. See you."  
Rush knit his brows. He didn't expect that. Eli seemed to have set his grudge against him aside, which pleased him of course, but he was asking himself why the sudden change of heart. His eyes wandered to Melody, but she just smiled. Apparently she was also glad that Eli seemed to has found his normal form.  
"Can we have a talk, Miss Hansen?"  
"Sure. Make yourself comfortable."  
Melody waited until Nicholas had entered, then she closed the door. Her heart was pounding like mad and she was tense. This surely was no courtesy visit. She sat on her bed and clutched her knees with her arms. Rush had sat down on the only chair, which was standing at her desk. His look darted quickly over the display of her laptop, which stood open beside him and Melody felt a bit uneasy because she hadn't closed it. But it was just a moment, then he turned around to her and his brown eyes focused on her green.  
"How do you know what had happened on the planet?" he got to the subject immediately. "I'm not talking necessarily about the fact that Col. Young had lied regarding the rockfall, but what happened after it, when I was alone."  
Melody had grown pale, this was exactly what she had feared. She swallowed. There was no avoiding the fact, that he had to tell the truth.  
"When… the A.I. was connected to you for the few seconds, there was a kind of transfer of her memories... and yours. But this wasn't her intention" she added protectively. She could pretty well imagine what Nicholas must feel right now and her request of the A.I. to send her the remaining memories of Dr. Rush, gave her a queasy feeling. But she would keep that secret to herself.  
"What else did you see?" Rush asked and stayed relaxed on the outside. Only a slight twitching around his eyes and his mouth told Melody, how tense he really was.  
"Besides the incident on the planet some memories of your wife and Dr. Perry" she only was whispering. "And Eli." The last both words were spoken so quietly, that she assumed, he wouldn't have heard them. But she was wrong.  
"I see" he said, noticeably anxious to keep his emotions under control. "Did you tell anyone about that?"  
"I… no, I wouldn't do that" she said abashed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I never told anyone that there were memories of yours transferred to me, nor have I told anyone about them."  
Rush narrowed his eyes slightly, the wording she had used was unusual. And then he understood.  
"What did you tell Eli?" he asked and frowned.  
Melody felt as if she had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, but this was worse. She had done it on her best intentions for both, and actually revealed she had nothing. She more had guessed.  
"I told Eli nothing I didn't know before" she said and looked into his eyes. "I just recognized that something has happened between the both of you and this assumption was confirmed by our conversation in the infirmary. The memories only provided the proof."  
"Miss Hansen, what did you tell him?" Rush's voice was dangerously low.  
"I just pointed out to him, that you care for him, even if you assert the opposite" she said in a straightforward manner. "Dr. Rush, please, Eli has been terribly affected by this situation and I know, what he really means to you. I also know what you've had to face since… you lost your wife. But he doesn't understand it the way I do. I just wanted to help you… both of you. It was terrible to see you like that."  
For a while the Scot said nothing. He leant back, his hand pensively touching the corner of his mouth and looked Melody directly in the eye. His look was so intense that Melody had to look away after 2 seconds and instead looked down at her hands.  
The seconds passed and Dr. Rush still didn't talk. Melody couldn't stand the silence eventually and said "I am really sorry, if I misspoke. I just wanted to help."  
"Who did you lose?" he asked without reacting to her apology.  
"Sorry?" Melody wanted to make sure, if she didn't hear wrongly.  
"Who did you lose?" he repeated without taking his eyes off her.  
Melody opened her mouth and closed him again without saying anything. She swallowed.  
 _How do he know that?_ she thought frantically. Regardless from where, she had to say something. And lying wasn't an option.  
"My sister" she whispered eventually and noticed angrily, that just saying this word and the memories to her brought tears in her eyes.  
"Is that the reason you withdraw to your quarters and stay on your own?" Rush had stated this question in a normal, calm tone, but he just as well could have yelled at her.  
Her head jolted up and she looked at him shocked. She hadn't been prepared for such thing.  
"I…" she began, but the words were missing. "That is none of your business" she said after all. She felt so bad this moment that she wanted to ask him to leave. Actually he even stood up, but wasn't heading towards the door. He stepped over to her and asked "May I" and pointed to the place beside her.  
She nodded faintly.  
"You possess a remarkable ability for math too, I realized that. You see things in a completely different way. It is silly to hide that just because you think other people will think you're crazy. You broke the code. You woke the A.I. I don't think your sister would have wanted you to hide. No more…." At this part he faltered and Melody noticed, that he desperately was searching for the right words. "No more than my wife would have wanted me to push away everyone I care for."  
She realized that Nicholas had revealed his deepest feelings to her. She had the feeling the time was frozen and she was lost in his eyes. Her lips were slightly opened in astonishment and she was incapable of saying anything.  
Rush broke the spell by saying "I want you on my team. I want you to work with Eli and I together on the bridge. I need someone who looks at problems in a complete new way. And…" again he made a small pause before he spoke on "…I want you on my team likewise with Eli."  
He now looked a bit embarrassed, but Melody got the message. It seemed, he liked her. She felt happy, thankful and a bit out of reality, then she nodded.  
"Thank you, Dr. Rush."  
"Miss Hansen" he began, but Melody cut him off.  
"Please, you don't call Eli the whole time 'Mr. Wallace'. It's Melody." She was so happy that she felt brave enough at that moment, to offer that.  
The corner of Rush's mouth twitched briefly in amusement and he nodded. "Melody, you have the same gift as Dr. Perry. You seem to sense and guess many things. But during work we don't have time for that. Do I make myself clear in this point? This is the first and last time we will ever speak of this. You will not tell anyone of our chat." Rush looked very serious and Melodys mood sank rapidly. But she understood him.  
"Of course. This is only between us."  
Rush nodded. "Good. If you're fit for duty report to the bridge. Eli will tell you everything necessary." He stood up and wanted to leave her quarters.  
"Dr. Rush?" her voice held him back. He turned around and looked at her.  
Melody's eyes were no longer focused in his but were in a constant flow and Rush waited patiently.  
"We both have loved them very much" she said quietly after a moment. "We should carry this love in our hearts and never forget about the feeling."  
Rush narrowed his brows slightly and turned without a word. A few seconds later Melody was alone and looked at the closed doors.  
 _So he is still able to love_ , she thought with a slight smile and her thoughts went at once to Amanda Perry. Does he love her? She didn't know for sure, but she guessed so. In in that moment it became clear to her, what she really felt for him. Maybe his offer hadn't been such a good idea. She should have rejected. But he needed her and he liked her, and she didn't want to push him away.  
 _You let yourself in for this, Mel_ , she thought and looked at her laptop. Her music program was still open and she got an idea. Quickly she stood up, took it to her bed and started to work.

The next morning Melody entered the bridge. Since she had never been here until today, she stopped on the platform and looked around. Eli, who was sitting in the captain's chair in Rush's absence turned around and was quite surprised to see her there.  
"Melody!" he greeted her happily and also a bit amazed. "What are you doing here?"  
The girl stepped near the railing and ran her hands over it. Then she looked down at Eli and asked uncertainly "Didn't Dr. Rush tell you?"  
Eli was slightly confused. "Tell me what?" he asked.  
"He… asked me to work on the bridge. Together with both of you."  
"He did?" Eli asked incredulously. It wasn't that he wouldn't be happy to have Melody on their team, but he couldn't really believe Rush would have let someone else in on his projects.  
"Yes, but maybe… maybe we should ask him again" Melody turned and wanted to leave again, but Eli held her back.  
"No, wait. I'm glad you're here. Come on, have a seat." Eli jumped off the chair, put his hand out and led her down the stairs so she could sit in the chair.  
Beside Eli and Melody only Dr. Park and Dr. Volker were there and both just smiled to themselves. Especially Lisa was glad Melody became socialized.  
_For once he did the best, he could do_ , she thought about Rush and worked on.  
Meanwhile Eli gave Melody a tour and short time later she was sitting at a console and wasn't responsive anymore. And she looked happy.  
_Thanks, Nick_ , Eli thought happily and intended to thank him later in private.

While Melody and Eli were back on duty Rush, out of necessity, had to stay in his quarters. TJ dropped by regularly to check on him. At least she said so, but Rush knew she just wanted to make sure, that he was being a good patient and following her instructions. Since he was eager to get back to the bridge he obeyed.   
He worked on his chess figures in the morning, which were nearly finished. While he was carving Col. Young paid him a surprising visit. Rush wasn't very keen, but since the Col. showed his best manners Rush let him him in and after a long talk they had made up. Young even apologized once more for hitting Rush and Rush insinuated that he almost agreed with such reaction. Young thought this was as close as Rush would get to admitting wrongdoing.  
Before Young left Nick's quarters again, the chess figures caught his eye and he reminded TJ's assumption.  
"By the way, I really enjoy chess" Young said, already standing in the door. Rush gave him an approving look, whereby he laid his head slightly askance and said eventually "Next week when they're finished. Friday, 2000 hours, observation deck."  
Young smiled. "I'll be there." Then he disappeared and Nicholas went on carving. He just hoped Young was a halfway decent chess player, he appreciated games with some smidgen of difficulty.

Around midday Lt. Johansen dropped by again, carrying a bowl with lunch in her hand. They talked for a few minutes, then she left him alone.   
Nick peered into the bowl and frowned. They were again down to mush, which was mixed by Airman Becker out of the last of the food brought from the planet, but that didn't mean, it tasted any better than the other mush. Well, tomorrow the next vacationers would be back and they would hopefully bring replenishment. Until then he could confidently spare himself this shit. He shoved the bowl to the remotest corner of his nightstand and reached for a stack of papers, scribbled over with Elis handwriting, when suddenly a young woman appeared out of nothing in his quarters. She had long, brown hair, green eyes and looked very similar to Miss Hansen.  
"Hello Dr. Rush" she said, but didn't move.  
Nick furrowed his brows, "You are Miss Hansen's sister" he stated.  
Gwendolyn smiled. "Yes and no. I just took her shape. Unlike the Destiny, who creates your wife out of your thoughts, I do not share the personality of Melody's sister."  
Rush just needed two seconds to understand. "You're the A.I. who was linked to Miss Hansen and then connected for a short time with me."  
"That is correct. I just wanted to thank you again, for what you did for Melody and myself. I am very sorry you've had such trouble."  
Rush gave a short smile and nodded.  
"If you had been a threat, I wouldn't have been able to download you into the ship's system."  
"Indeed. I overheard the chat between you and Melody" she said.  
Rush frowned. The A.I. noticed it and said at once "Don't worry, your secrets are safe with me. Since I was connected to Melody I have very explicit knowledge of her character, her feelings, and her thoughts. You made her very happy with your offer, but you don't understand everything."  
"And what do I have to understand?" Rush asked interested.  
"Melody's story" Gwendolyn said. "What happened to her sister. What happened to her."  
"I believe, that is none of my business" Rush said at once.  
"Maybe not, but is there someone other than Dr. Perry who knows what you've been through and understands you?" Gwen asked.  
"I don't see your point" Rush said, who was getting more and more displeased with the direction this conversation headed.  
"Dr. Perry is very close to you, I saw it in your thoughts. Melody could become the same to you."  
"The relationship between Mandy and myself is our private issue. And we've known each other for much longer. I just met Miss Hansen a few days ago and I think, the relationship between us is absolutely incomparable to the one Mandy and I."  
Gwendolyn remained silent and came closer. She sat on the edge of the bed, beside Nick. He gave her a sceptical look, but waited. The A.I. reached out her hand.  
"You wanted information about me, don't you? I'll provide some now. My history and something more."  
She waited patiently for him to decide. Rush's eyes wandered between Gwen's hand and her eyes and back, then he lifted hesitantly his own hand and clasped hers. At least he wanted to. The hand of the A.I. suddenly vanished and blueish sparks encased his arm.  
"Don't worry, this time it's not dangerous" Gwen said when he tried to pull his hand back.  
"I'm connected to the ship and in control of the energy. Just close your eyes and open your mind."  
Rush did as he was told. Seconds later other memories flooded into his mind. There was, as promised, the story of the A.I., then he received a bundle of information about some ship systems, which he couldn't study right now and in the end the A.I. sent him images and feelings of Melody and her sister. Nick gasped for breath when he felt an agonizing pain. It was the same pain he suffered, when Gloria had left him. He saw why Melody retreated from the world and also sensed her deep sorrow about him, even when he didn't know her. And slowly he understood why the A.I. wanted to show him. Sure, Mandy was there for him and understood him, but Melody could understand him even better because his pain was the same as hers. She knew why he behaved as he did and accepted it. So Gloria had been right, talking to her would do him good.  
Slowly the A.I. disconnected from Rush and he felt his headache coming back again.  
"In a few minutes your brain should have handled the new informations, then you'll feel better. You can access it at any time. If you want to."  
Rush nodded. "Thank you" he said. "That was an interesting experience."  
"It was the least I could do for you" the A.I. said.  
"Regarding Miss Hansen… I think I understand why you gave me her memories, but…" Rush was looking for the right words. "She is not Mandy" he said brusquely and the A.I. nodded.  
"No, she isn't and she never will be. But you'll get to know her. There a special connection between the two of you, which Melody realized as well. But you first have to figure out what exactly. I have to go now. We'll meet again, Dr. Rush."  
Nick blinked and was alone again. He kneaded his forehead briefly and decided, to access the new memories right away. After all he had a lot of time on his hands. So he laid down on his bed, closed his eyes and went through all the new information the A.I. had given him. He only avoided Melody's memories, they were too painfull.

He must have fallen asleep because sometime later he jolted away to the sound of knocking on his door.  
"Yes" he said still half asleep and TJ entered. She had brought along his evening meal.  
"I'm sorry I woke you" she said when she realized that he had been asleep.  
"Don't mind, wasn't planned" he replied and shifted up a bit so he could lean against the head of the bed.  
"You didn't touch your meal" Tamara stated, when she saw the bowl on his nightstand.  
Rush just shrugged his shoulders and remained quiet.  
"Is this starting again?" she asked in a severe tone and held the new bowl under his nose.  
With a sigh he took it and screwed up his face when he smelled it.  
"Just try, it's not that bad."  
With disgust he ate the mush and said "If you try to poison me, please chose something more subtle next time."  
TJ curled her lips and just said "You must be getting better if you're already grumbling again. Lemme have a look at your wound once more."  
Rush bent forward and a few minutes later the medic said "You may return to work tomorrow. On the bridge. Avoid repairs and too much movement for the next while. Report to the infirmary for a check up in two days."  
Rush nodded and TJ commented "And get accustomed to answering with spoken words. What did I just say about too much movement? Nodding and shaking the head counts for that too."  
This time Rush gave her only his famous 'Rush-gaze', which worked without any gesture but said everything. Tamara had to laugh. "You're really one of the most difficult patients I have ever had. And we'll have another talk about your eating habits, Dr. Rush. I'll keep an eye on you."  
"That won't be necessary, I'm not going to starve" he snapped. That's all he needed, eating under supervision!  
But TJ's facial expression showed rigidity. "Good night, Dr. Rush."  
"Good night, Lt."  
She took both bowls with her and left.

The next morning Eli entered the bridge. A wide grin appeared on his face when he saw his boss again, occupying the Kirk chair, poring over something. For a few second he just watched him. Now, since Rush was back again, he suddenly felt joy and relief.  
"I know you're standing there, Mr. Wallace" Rush said suddenly without even turning around. Eli saw to it that he hurried back to his station and bit back a giggle.  
"Good to see you're back, Dr. Rush" he greeted him and started working.  
Shortly after him Melody appeared on the bridge.  
"Good morning" she greeted both. They still had the bridge for themselves.  
"Miss Hansen" Rush greeted back and asked "Has Eli explained everything you need to know?"  
"Yes, Dr. Rush" she confirmed and the Scot nodded satisfied.

A few days later the scientist had no cause to regret his decision to take Melody under his wing. She established a connection with the A.I. which allowed them to provide specific informations from the database without searching around for hours. Thus they managed to decode and activate another device in the infirmary which was able to speed up bone regeneration. Bone fractures now needed only half the time to heal and Tamara was very thankful for this discovery. Melody was glad to give the medic a little thank you in this way.  
The wound on Rush's head was completely healed by now and he fell back in his old habits working too much without regard for himself. Additionally he was thinking frequently about the chat with the A.I. He watched Melody closer and sometimes he could see that she wanted to be alone. In this moment Nick almost feared she would break out in tears but she never did.  
One night when he came back to his quarters from the bridge. His head was pounding because he had spent the whole day studying, calculating, and thinking about some numbers and completely forgotten to eat or drink something. He was exhausted and just wanted to collapse and sleep . He was just about to enter his quarters when he stopped. In front of his door was a small package. Hesitantly he picked it up and took a closer look. His name was written on it and after he entered his quarters and closed the door, he opened it. Inside was a USB Stick and a note.

_Sometimes music can make the misery bearable. I wrote it for you and your wife._  
_Melody._

On the edge on the note was another sentence, which said _P.S. I named the composition 'Harmony in minor'. It's written for two violins._  
Rush narrowed his brows and put the note aside. Then he looked at the USB stick for some time. Something in him prevented him from taking a look, because it would bring back memories of Gloria and he wasn't sure if he had the strength, and wasn't prepared for them. Eventually he thought about the many hours he had listened to his wife playing the violin and inserted the stick into his laptop.  
The stick contained a mp3 file and he opened it.  
The melody was soft, played by two violins. It didn't even take a minute until Rush had tears in his eyes. It reminded him so much of Gloria, but this time the pain wasn't as strong as before. The minor sounds had really a soothing effect, and when the piece of music came to an end after five minutes he somehow felt better. He wiped over his eyes and before his inner eyes appeared an image of Melody, sitting with closed eyes in front of the obelisk, hearing music only she could hear. In this moment he realized that he was more to the young woman than a brilliant scientist, and she was really unique.  
A small smile appeared on his lips, then he took off off his vest and the olive green shirt, laid down and listened once more to this wonderful melody until he fell asleep.


End file.
